PBL 2020: North Eastern Warriors overcome Chennai Superstarz' scare in nail-biting contest to clinch top spot

Hyderabad: North Eastern Warriors edged Chennai Superstarz 4-3 in an exciting face-off to grab the top spot at the fifth Premier Badminton League on Tuesday. It was the final league match for both the teams as they have already qualified for the semi-finals. [caption id=“attachment_7640841” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] With the two teams being tied on 22 points, North Eastern Warriors inched ahead by virtue of having 13 wins, while Chennai have 10 wins against their name. For the Warriors, Indonesia Masters semi-finalist Lee Cheul Yiu, Kaushal Dharmamer, and mixed doubles pair of Lee Yong Dae and Kim Ha Na contributed by winning their respective matches. With the two teams locked 3-3 after first three matches, it was left to former Olympic champion Lee Yong Dae to do the needful for the North Eastern Warriors along with former World No. 1 Kim Ha Na. The two did not disappoint as they came back from 4-6 down in the first game to grab a 15-11, 15-9 win against Chennai’s Dhruv Kapila and debutante Sanjana Santosh. Earlier, the in-form Lee Cheuk Yiu won his third match in a row, beating S Sankar Muthusamy 15-8, 15-11. The 16-year-old did impress with his shot making skills but Lee’s experience and confidence proved too much for the teen, who definitely has a bright future ahead of him. Lee’s win being a Trump victory put the Warriors on course for a victory. World No. 127 Kaushal Dharmamer, winner of the Maldives International Challenge and the Myanmar International Series last year, ran away to a commanding 15-3, 15-11 win against Korea Junior Open semi-finalist K Sathish Kumar to give a good start to the Guwahati-based franchise. Chennai were able to grab a couple of wins in this enthralling encounter. World No. 30 Kirsty Gilmour was sharp in her face-off with the fast-rising South Asian Games gold medallist Ashmita Chaliha, who put up a good account of herself in their first-ever meeting. Chaliha, who is touted to be one of India’s best talents from the next generation, remained on par with the Scot before the Chennai Trump was able to raise her game to finish off with a 15-12, 15-11 win. In the absence of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who was rested ahead of the semi-finals, Dhruv Kapila teamed up with former national champion Sumeeth Reddy, and their partnership worked wonders. Oozing grit and determination, they ground out a 15-13, 15-14 win over the North Eastern pair of Bodin Isara and Krishna Prasad Garaga.