Year 2016 will start with a major International badminton league – Star Sports Premier Badminton League (Star Sports PBL) – wherein the world’s best players will feature and compete against each other for the Star Sports PBL Champions title and a USD 1 million prize money.  The opening day will see the clash between Mumbai Rockets and Awadhe Warriors at National Sports Club of India (NSCI) in Mumbai on today.

The Star Sports Premier Badminton League will have a new rule of 'Trump Match', which will make the tournament exciting for the players as well as the fans. The rule entails every team to nominate its ‘Trump Match’ from among its five matches. The two teams can nominate the same match as its ‘Trump Match’. This has to be done 90 minutes before the tie starts, after which the broadcaster and the technical officials will determine the order of matches. A team winning the 'Trump Match', after selecting one of the five matches in a tie, would fetch them a bonus point (+2) and a negative point (-1) in case of defeat.

The home team Mumbai Rockets will be led by HS Prannoy, RMV Gurusaidutt, Manu Attri, Russian Vladimir Ivanov and Danish shuttler Mathias Boe, who will en-cash on home support during their tie against Awadhe Warriors. Rockets will also have talented women shuttlers such as Ruthvika Gadde, Denmark’s Kamilla Juhl along with Chinese duo Han Li and Liu Zi Die. The responsibility of winning Men’s Singles will be on Prannoy and Gurusaidutt’s shoulders, who have been in a good form in the last few months. Ivanov, Boe, Attri and Thailand’s Chayut Triyachart will put a strong contention in Men’s & Mixed Doubles. Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles will be taken care by Ruthvika, Kamilla, Han and Liu.

For Awadhe Warriors, World No. 2 Saina Nehwal along with Thailand’s S. Tanongsak and B Sai Praneeth of India. After an amazing year, Saina Nehwal is all set to take up a new challenge in the new year at an international-level badminton league. With the presence of Saina in the team, the Lucknow-based franchisee is confident enough to start their campaign with a stunning win. She will be supported by G Vrushali in the Women’s Singles as well as Christinna Pedersen of Denmark and K Maneesha in Women’s & Mixed Doubles. In the Men’s Singles, Tanongsak, Praneeth and Sourabh Verma will take the charge where as Cai Yun of China, Hendra Gunawan of Indonesia and Bodin Issara of Thailand will be responsible for Men’s & Mixed Doubles.

The second day, 3^rd January, will see two battles between Hyderabad Hunters and Bengaluru Top Guns which will take place in the afternoon followed by home team Mumbai Rockets facing Chennai Smashers in the evening tie. Malaysian legendary player Lee Chong Wei and India ace Jwala Gutta will spearhead the Hyderabad Hunters’ charge against Srikanth Kidambi and Ashwini Ponnappa’s Bengaluru Top Guns in the battle of two badminton-loving mega cities. The Tie will be followed by Mumbai Rockets’ match against Chennai Smashers, which will be led by shining shuttler PV Sindhu.

Speaking on the first Tie in Mumbai, HS Prannoy of Mumbai Rockets stated: “The Star Sports Premier Badminton League is a great platform to start the season, where we will play alongside top-rated players of the world. Our team Mumbai Rockets has a balanced team and we have   best in the class players such as RMV Gurusaidutt, Russia’s Vladimir Ivanov and Denmark’s Kamilla Juhl. We believe that with the right mix of our players in our team, we have a chance to reach the final of the League and fight for the title. We are expecting a good start tomorrow against Awadhe Warriors and hoping for the best.”

Saina Nehwal of Awadhe Warriors added: “This is the most awaited Badminton event of the season and a crucial League to start the year. Apart from improving our performances, I guess all the players will get a perfect opportunity to analyse our game, which will help us to set our goals for the whole season. With the presence of Tanongsak of Thailand, Christinna Pedersen of Denmark and Sai Praneeth, our team is one of the contenders of the PBL 2016 title. We are looking for a positive start in the first match against the home team Mumbai Rockets.”

Speaking on the match against Bengaluru Top Guns, Lee Chong Wei of Hyderabad Hunters said: “Playing tournaments in India is always a beautiful experience for me and the Star Sports Premier Badminton League will be a huge experience for me. Hyderabad is known as a badminton-loving city and people love the sport there. Representing the city in the Star Sports PBL 2016 is an honour for me and playing alongside best-rated players such as P Kashyap, Jwala Gutta, Markis Kido of Indonesia and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark will be a great moment for me. Our team has match-winning players and the team combination of each tie will be around these players. The players in our team will also help us to score maximum points in the ‘Trump Matches’ and if everything goes as per our strategies, our fans will see us in the Final of the Star Sports PBL 2016”.

Srikanth Kidambi of Bengaluru Top Guns commented “Starting a season with the Star Sports Premier Badminton League is good news for us as we will get an opportunity to play against as well as besides world class players. The League will surely help us to enhance our skills as well as understand our own weaknesses. Positive beginning in the League will help us aim for the Finals. Bengaluru Top Guns has a good set of talented players such as Ashwini Ponnappa, Anand Pawar and Joachim Fischer Nielsen of Denmark. Playing against start-studded Hyderabad Hunters will be tough but the PBL has some unique rules and opportunities where all the teams get fair chances. We are hoping for best start in Mumbai.”

Speaking on the match against Mumbai Rockets, PV Sindhu of Chennai Smashers stated: “It’s unfortunate for our team that we are not playing our home matches in Chennai due to recent flood. However, we are playing for Chennai City and we will live up to the spirit of the fans back home in the most-awaited Star Sports Premier Badminton League. We know for a fact that Star Sports PBL 2016 will be very competitive and will feature intensely-fought games where all the teams are the favourites for the title. Chennai Smashers has a brilliant mix of skilful players who have mastered their talent in the game. Cris Adcock of England, Soni Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia and Sikki Reddy will lead from the front for Chennai Smashers. Through the Trump Match rule, we will explore various strategies around it and will try to gain maximum out of it.”

The Star Sports Premier Badminton League will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports.

Indonesian shuttler Tommy Sugiarto of Delhi Acers said: “India has proved to a major country in Badminton and has produced legendary players in the sport. The Star Sports Premier Badminton League is another product of this country, which is a huge platform for all badminton players around the world. This will be an exciting League as all the teams have the best players and talents. With the ‘Trump Match’ rule, no team is strong or weak and all teams are on the same level. Ajay Jayaram, Rajiv Ouseph along with Malaysian duo Koo Keat Keen and Tan Boon Heong will take the charge for Delhi Acers. Our first match against Awadhe Warriors in Lucknow will be vital for our team as the home team has some star players who can create trouble for us. Our main strategy will be winning those matches where we are strong through the Trump Match. We may stun everyone in the Star Sports PBL in our first match itself.”

Commenting on the start of the Premier Badminton League 2016, Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta, President BAI & PBL Chairman stated: “It will be an exhilarating 16-day of non-stop badminton as world’s top notch players will fight it out in front of you for the title. I would like to thank all the stakeholders, franchisees, sponsors and broadcasters who are associated with the League. I am sure that we all together will give you exciting moments of the Star Sports Premier Badminton League. The PBL is here to stay and we will ensure its continuity”.

Commenting on the commencement of Star Sports Premier Badminton League, P Gopichand added: “To have top-rated international players such as Lee Chong Wei, Saina Nehwal, Sinshu, Kashyap, Srikanth, Mathias Boe, Carsten Mogensen, Chris Adcock etc., the Star Sports Premier Badminton League will prove to be the top-class League in the world. I think Trump Match will be the key factor of the Star Sports PBL 2016 and I am sure all are excited about it. Even if you have a 3-0 lead in a tie, you can still lose. It keeps the spectators interested till the very end. This is the very reason why the ‘Trump Match’ was introduced in the first place. I’m hoping for an exciting season of Star Sports PBL 2016.”

The Star Sports Premier Badminton League will start from 2^nd January 2016 where six franchisees - Delhi Acers, Hyderabad Hunters, Bengaluru Top Guns, Chennai Smashers, Mumbai Rockets and Awadhe Warriors - will compete for the top honour. The opening day of the League will witness Awadhe Warriors taking on Mumbai Rockets in Mumbai.

The Star Sports Premier Badminton League will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports.

Courtesy by www.newsvoir.com