Match: Hyderabad Hunters v Chennai Smashers
Date: 1 January, 2017
Time: 9:30pm SGT/7pm IST/1:30pm GMT
Competition: Premier Badminton League, 2017
Venue: Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad
TV Channel: There is no live TV coverage in Singapore.
Live streaming: Hotstar
Overview
The tournament-opening tie of 2017 edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) will be headlined by the Women's singles match between reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin and silver medallist PV Sindhu as hosts Hyderabad Hunters take on Chennai Smashers on New Year's day.
Both the Smashers and the Hunters have added firepower to their unit for the second season. While the Chennai-based club retained their star player - Sindhu, the Hyderabad unit spent big to bring on board Marin with a record price.
Sunday's tie will have five matches - Men's singles 1, Men's singles 2, Women's singles, Men's doubles, Mixed doubles. Choosing the trump match will prove crucial to the teams' chances chances as both the units are looking solid on paper.
All you need to know about the tournament format and Trump Match details
The big clash
In 2016, Sindhu successfully avenged her Rio Olympic defeat to Marin in the year-ending Dubai Superseries Finals. However, the Spaniard has a 5-4 head-to-head advantage over her arch rival. A lot also depends on how the two shuttlers, who are known for late comebacks, adapt to the 11-point format. It will also be interesting to see whether the Hyderabad crowd support their team's superstar Marin or local girl Sindhu.
Malaysian boost for Hyderabad
Another high-octane match that is on the cards in the first tie the Men's doubles clash between and Chennai and Hyderabad's Wee Kiong Tan/Tan Boon Heong. The Malaysian pairing, which also the world number one doubles star Wee Kiong, will have the edge over their opposition unit but nothing less than a firecracker can be expected out of the match.
Chennai also have good Men's singles stars of the likes of Parupalli Kashyap, Tommy Sugiarto and Tanongsak Saenboonsambuk. Rajiv Ouseph, Sameer Varma and Sai Praneeth also form a formidable unit for Hyderabad, who will look to better their last season's performance - seventh place finish.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Team News
Hunters
Squad: Carolina Marin, Wee Kiong Tan, Chau Hoi Wah, Rajiv Ouseph, Sai Praneeth, Satwik Sairaj, Sameer Verma, Krishna Priya, Meghna J, Tan Boon Heong
Smashers
Squad: P V Sindhu, Tommy Sugiarto, Gabby Adcock, Tanongsak S, P Kashyap, Chris Adcock, Mads Pieler Kolding, B Sumeeth Reddy, Ramya Tulasi, Arundhati Pantawane
