Shuttle talk set to gain momentum

 In ten hectic days, the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League has already traversed four cities across the country and now reaches a place many in the badminton fraternity refer to as the ‘mecca’.

Bangalore, which has produced some of the best known shuttlers in the country, is the penultimate stop for the league stage of the $1 million tournament, and even though the local side -- Banga Beats -- will not be playing at the Sree Kanteerava indoor stadium until Sunday, anticipation levels are roof-raising.

The fact that the City gets to witness some of the best badminton it has ever seen in a few hours time is reason enough but getting to see World No 1 Lee Chong Wei in the flesh is a bigger incentive to turn up at the venue on Saturday.

The Malaysian will spearhead the Mumbai Masters against Lucknow’s Awadhe Warriors.
Even though it might still be too early in the tournament to predict where the teams are bound to finish, one look at Mumbai’s record so far and their line-up, it becomes obvious that the Masters are title contenders.

Coached by Lee’s personal coach Tey Seu Bock, the Masters have scored three wins out of four matches and sit two points below table toppers Hyderabad Hotshots with 13 points.

Masters have achieved these results mainly on the back of Lee but Germany’s Mark Zwiebler and Denmark’s Tine Baun have been exceptional too, while Vladimir Ivanov, Siki Reddy, Manu Attri and Pranav Chopra -- though not as prominent as some of their more illustrious team-mates -- have chipped in with their mite to make the team the one to look out for.

The Masters lost their only game to a fiery Hyderabad Hotshots at Pune a couple of days ago but that loss could spur them to do better against the Warriors.

The Warriors, on the other hand, do not have someone as accomplished as Lee in their line-up but they possess India’s latest sensation PV Sindhu and other lesser known shuttlers who can pull off an upset or two.

The 18-year-old Hyderabadi, who recently won the Malaysian Open, spearheads a side that isn’t as star studded as the Masters and will go into the competition as underdogs. World No 13 Wei Feng Chong from Malaysia is their best bet in the men’s singles section. Jakarta’s Markis Kido and Mathias Boe have teamed up to form a formidable doubles pairing and have clicked for the Muhammad Hafiz Hashim’s wards.

Gurusaidutt too will be raring to go but it will be interesting to see how the Warriors, who have eight points from three games, make use of the young Indian.

So far, the shuttlers have been exposed to an interesting tournament and the Bangalore leg will spice things up as the tournament nears the knockout stages, but a close look at the venue for such an important segment and it makes you wonder if the organisers will return for the semifinal which is scheduled on August 29.

For the moment though, the niggles can be put aside as the City gears up for a badminton extravaganza unlike ever before.