PBL: Sindhu guides Smashers to victory

Sindhu's comprehensive victory might have enabled Smashers to win its second consecutive tie, but the most fascinating contest of the engagement was the mixed double match which pitted former World championship silver medallist Chris Adcock against his wife Gabrielle Adcock.

Published : Jan 05, 2016 19:22 IST , Lucknow

P. V. Sindhu hardly broke a sweat in her women's singles tie against P. C. Thulasi.
P. V. Sindhu hardly broke a sweat in her women's singles tie against P. C. Thulasi.
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P. V. Sindhu hardly broke a sweat in her women's singles tie against P. C. Thulasi.

Two-time World championship bronze medallist P. V. Sindhu won her trump match against P.C. Thulasi without breaking a sweat as Chennai Smashers defeated Delhi Acers 4-3 in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) at the BBD Academy Complex here on Tuesday.

Sindhu's comprehensive victory might have enabled Smashers to win its second consecutive tie, but the most fascinating contest of the engagement was the mixed double match which pitted former World championship silver medallist Chris Adcock against his wife Gabrielle Adcock.

Chris, representing Smashers, first joined Pranaav Chopra to beat the dangerous pair of Koo Ket Kein and Tan Boon Heong 15-12, 15-14 in the men's doubles contest that had some marathon rallies.

Ajay Jayaram exhibited his fine court craft to outwit Indonesian Simon Santoso 15-6, 15-9 and level the points.

And, it was Chris and Pia Zebadiah who thwarted a strong challenge from Kien and Gabrielle to record a 14-15, 15-14, 15-14 win in 42 minutes and set the stage for Sindhu to finish it off in style.

The British-Indonesian pair showed good coordination and was comfortably placed at 14-9 to take the first game. However, they committed a few errors and allowed Acers to snatch six consecutive points with Kien completing a superb rally for the final point.

In the keenly-fought second game, Kein netted one when Acers was eyeing the match point at 14-13. Chris and Pia did not waste the opportunity to stay alive in the contest.

The decider featuring some excellent rallies, one of them lasting for 63 shots, also went down to the wire. In the end, Chris played a fabulous backhand cross court shot to leave his wife bamboozled and earn a crucial point for Smashers.

World No. 12 Sindhu toyed with Thulasi for a 15-5, 15-4 victory in the women's singles. Sindhu displayed her court coverage and magnificent drop shots to wrap up the match in 24 minutes.

“I know her game well. I started well and managed to maintain the pressure,” said Sindhu.

Tommy Sugiarto bagged Acers' trump match without impacting the overall outcome of the tie.

Rockets go down to Topguns

Suo Di beat Han Li in a close contest for Topguns' first point.

The Malaysian duo of Hoon Thien How and Khim Wah Lim gave Olympic silver medallist Mathias Boe and European champion Vladimir Ivanov a run for their money before the Danish-Russian pair won Rockets' trump match 15-13, 15-11.

R.M.V. Gurusaidutt extended Rockets' lead but ninth-ranked K. Srikanth trounced H.S. Prannoy 15-9, 15-8 in Topguns' trump match to draw parity.

In the deciding encounter, Rockets' Liu Zi Die and Ivanov beat Ashwini Ponappa and Robert Blair.

Result:Chennai Smashers bt Delhi Acers4-3

[Chris Adcock and Pranaav Chopra bt Koo Keat Kien and Tan Boon Heong 15-12, 15-14 (1/0);  Simon Santoso lost to Ajay Jayaram 6-15, 9-15 (1/1); Chris Adcock and Pia Zebadiah bt Koo Keat Kien and Gabrielle Adcock  14-15, 15-14, 15-14 (2/1); Chennai Smashers' Trump Match: P.V. Sindhu bt P.C. Thulasi 15-5, 15-4 (4/1); Delhi Acers' Trump Match: Brice Leverdez lost to Tommy Sugiarto 4-15, 11-15 (4/3)].

Mumbai Rockets bt Bengaluru Topguns 4-3

[Han Li lost to Suo Di 9-15, 15-11, 7-15 (0/1); Mumbai Rockets' Trump Match: Mathias Boe and Vladimir Ivanov bt Hoon Thien How and Khim Wah Lim 15-13, 15-11 (2/1); R.M.V. Gurusaidutt bt Anand Pawar 15-7, 15-13 (3/1); Bengaluru Topguns'trump Match: H.S. Prannoy lost to K. Srikanth 9-15, 8-15 (3/3); Liu Zi Die and Vladimir Ivanov bt Ashwini Ponappa and Robert Blair 15-12 11-15, 15-9 (4/3)].

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