Over 120 shuttlers take part in Badminton League

Visakhapatnam: HRD Minister Ganta Srininvasa Rao on Monday inaugurated the three-day Pro Masters Badminton League (PMBL) at Swarna Bharathi Indoor stadium in the city.

Over 120 shuttlers including former international and national players and Arjuna awardees from across the country will compete for the league title. The league was conducted in six teams by Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association (APBA). 

The six teams named Wristy Masters, Shining Stars, Rhino Smashers, Himalayan Tigers, Amaravathi Sunrises and Hyderabad Warriors would compete in the league for the title.

In the inaugural match, Hyderabad Warriors downed Shining Stars 4-3 in a group B league match on the first day of PMBL. In another match, Wristy Masters defeated Himalayan Tigers 5-2 in group A.  

The group B contest went to the wire with both teams locked at 3-3 before the final match in which Divya Ganapathi and Taniskh defeated Usha Sree P and Vasant K in straight games. Local pair Ch Sanyasi Rao and KP Naik superbly performed and won against Sanjay Ray and Souman Bhattacharjee. V Diju partnering Sangeeta R won one of the two matches for Himalayan Tigers.

Results: 
Group A: Wristy Masters bt Himalayan Tigers 5-2 (Gyanesh Jaiswal and KVB Krishna Raju bt Lingeswara Rao and Ram Lakhan 15-11,15-12; Nupura and Sushant N. bt Lalmuanawma and Nellai Gandhimathi 15-8,15-14; Shrikanth Bakshi and Tejen Kabha bt Kishore Kumar and Rajesh Sekhar 15-14,15-13; Neelima Chowdary and Pratibha Dahiyo bt Pooja Mehta and Shika Khanduri 15-6,15-6; Kaushik Rudra and Nancy Tandon lost to Sangeeta Rajagopalan and  V. Diju 14-15,13-15; Jaisingh and Vijay Sharma lost to Akula Venkata Raju and Rajeev Sharma 5-15,10-15; Sushanth N. and Varun Sharma bt Ashish Sriram and Sunil Gladson 15-15,15-12,15-10).