Delhi Acers Crowned PBL Champions

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Delhi Acers crowned PBL champions . Image Source : twitter@PBLIndiaLive

New Delhi : Delhi Acers were crowned the champions of the first Premier Badminton League title knocking out Mumbai Rockets by 4-3 here and winning a cash prize of Rs.3 crore.

There was no looking back for the Acers after Tommy  Sugiarto gave a winning start . Koo Jien Keat and Tan Boon Heong  had a superb victory in mens doubles. Rajiv Ouseph took it forward by defeating the local player Gurusai Dutt.

The Mixed doubles duo of Kamilla Juhl and Vladimir Ivanov thrashed Gabrielle Adcock and Akshay Dewalkar 15-6; 15-12 to win the first match of the grand finale.

In the first men’s singles, Tommy Sugiaro continued his winning streak by defeating Mumbai’s H.S. Prannoy with 13-15; 15-9; 15-9 to bring Delhi back into the contest.

However, in the men’s doubles match, Ivanov and Mathais Boe played their heart out before going down narrowly 14-15; 15-10 and 15-14  to Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong as Delhi grabbed a 2-1 lead after three matches.

Mumbai Rockets fielded China’s Han Li for the trump match, Han Li had beaten Saina Nehwal on Friday, which had helped her team to secure a place in the finals. Surprisingly, her rival, PC Thulasi defeated her in the first game, but then she beat the Indian to give her team the lead of 3-2.

In the deciding match, which was Delhi’s Trump match, 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Rajiv Ouseph faced RMV Gurusai Dutt in the court and took Delhi across the line by grabbing two points with a 15-11; 15-6 win over the Indian in the last match of the day.

The final scores of the tie read 4-3 in the Acers name.

Speaking on the Finals, Akhilesh Das Gupta, President BAI & Chairman PBL said: “I Congratulate Delhi Acers for this victory and the Title tag of the Star Sports Premier Badminton League. What a game of badminton it was today, and each match proved that the players are playing for the finals and how desperate they were, to stamp their name on the victory card.”