JOIN USIndia's ace shuttler P V Sindhu did the star turn, winning two matches as Chennai Smashers emerged victorious in the 'Smashers derby', beating Ahmedabad Smash Masters 2-1 in the Premier Badminton League (PBL), here on Saturday. After having stunned the world No.1 Tai Tzi Ying in three games in the second match of the tie, Sindhu joined forces with B Sumeeth Reddy to pull off a 15-14, 15-13 win against Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Lee Reginald to send the home fans into raptures.
Sindhu, who played the mixed doubles tie as doubles specialist Gabrielle Adcock was unavailable owing to injury, combined well with Reddy to help Chennai Smashers win and keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockouts alive. Earlier in the fourth match, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk pulled off a stunning 15-10, 12-15, 15-14 win over HS Prannoy to level the tie at 1-1 for Chennai. The Thai southpaw snapped Prannoy's 10-match winning streak in PBL to bring the Chennai team back in contention by winning the trump match. Sourabh Varma gave the visiting team a vital 2-0 lead after three ties by coming back from a game down to beat Frenchman Brice Leverdez in the Chennai Smashers' trump match. He overcame a slow start and a resilient opponent to win 11-15, 15-14, 15-12.
Varma hit some brilliant smashes as he capitalised on errors at crucial junctures by his rival. In the much-anticipated clash between Sindhu and the world number one Tai Tzi Ying, it was the Indian world number three, who emerged triumphant. She held off a spirited challenge from Ying to post a 15-11, 10-15, 15-12 in a high quality match.
"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.
Earlier, Ahmedabad went ahead by winning the first match of the evening - the men's doubles. The duo of Kidambi Nandagopal and Lee Reginald made short work of the home team's pairing of Chris Adcock and Lee Yang 15-13, 15-12.
While Ahmedabad remained third in the standings with 13 points, Chennai are in seventh place with nine points.