Chennai Smashers rode P.V. Sindhu’s brilliance to pip Ahmedabad Smash Masters 2-1 in a Premier Badminton League (PBL) clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.
Ahmedabad took a 1-0 lead as the men’s doubles pair of Lee Chun Hei Reginald and Kidambi Nandagopal registered a 15-13,15-12 victory over Chris Adcock and Lee Yang.
Home team superstar and Olympic 2016 silver medallist Sindhu defeated world No.1 women’s singles player Tai Tzu Ying 15-11, 10-15, 15-12 to pull Chennai level 1-1.
“It was a great win and I feel I did extremely well to beat Tai Tzu. She played very well and I am really happy to have won the match. The crowd was extremely motivating and their support helped me a lot in getting this win,” Sindhu said after the match.
In the first men’s singles match, Sourabh Verma edged past Brice Leverdez 12-15, 15-14, 15-12 in Chennai’s “Trump Match’ to give Ahmedabad a 2-0 lead. Leverdez’s defeat meant Chennai lost a point.
In the second men’s singles match, home team’s Tanongsak Saemsomboonsuk defeated H.S Prannoy 15-10, 12-15, 15-14 in Ahmedabad’s ‘Trump Match’ to keep Chennai alive as they equalised 1-1.
In the deciding mixed doubles match, Sindhu and B.Sumeeth Reddy overcame Reginald and Kamilla Rytter Juhl 15-14, 15-13 to win the tie for Chennai.