PBL 3 Tie 18: Ahmedabad secured semi-finals berth defeating Mumbai

Ahmedabad Smash Masters secured semi-finals berth with 17 points in the standings after winning against Mumbai Rockets with 5-0 at Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. HS Prannoy and Tai Tzu Ying pushed themselves to the limits as it mattered the most to led the team.

Prannoy executed himself with the stunning victory of 15-12, 15-12 against World No. 5 Son Wan Ho, after losing to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Chennai Smashers in the previous match.

Initially in the first game, Prannoy remained slothy and allowed the South Korean to take the lead with 3-0, but it didn’t take him too long to come on his stride and quickly caught up his opponent at 3-3. From where, it was anybody’s point after each rally with Son’s defensive attacks and Prannoy’s attacking skills. Closing the game with 15-12 with a deft drop shot which landed out of opponent’s reach.

After switching the sides, Prannoy underwent a few unforced errors while execution of rallies, which landed him to trail with 8-11. Later, World No. 10 managed to overcome Son’s defence with his powerful smashes and sealed the match.

In the women’s singles match, Tai Tzu Ying exhibited her vehement skills and proved that her loss against Sindhu on Saturday is nothing. She defeated Mumbai’s Beiwen Zhang, who was nothing less than her hidden resistance to hold on the game, but not upto the Tai’s challenge. Beiwen managed to lead with 4-0 in the second game, which was her short-lived as Tai reverted with mesmerizing dominance and added the point to the Ahmedabad’s pocket.

While, Spectator’s witnessed battle of brothers between Sourabh Verma of Ahmedabad and Sameer Verma of Mumbai Rockets, as the match was trump from both the teams. For the first time in this season’s PBL, both the teams coincidentally chose the same match as their Trump. Much to Ahmedabad's relief, it was Sourabh who emerged victorious with a 15-14, 15-11 win, which added the crucial point to Ahmedabad.

In the first match of the Tie, the mixed doubles duo Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Law Cheuk Him just emerged as the easy winners against Mumbai’s Gabriela Stoeva and Lee Yong Dae. While in the last match, Kidambi Nandagopal and Lee Chun Hei failed to carry the victory and allowed the Rocket’s Lee Yong Dae and Tan Boon Heong to take the match.

Results:

Mixed Doubles: Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Law Cheuk Him beat Gabriela Stoeva and Lee Yong Dae with 15-11, 15-7

Men’s Singles: HS Prannoy beat Son Wan Ho with 15-12, 15-12

Women’s Singles: Tai Tzu Ying beat Beiwen Zhang with 15-9, 15-12

Men’s Singles: Sourabh Verma (T) beat Sameer Verma (T) with 15-14, 15-11