PBL: Awadhe Warriors Look to Bounce Back Against Mumbai Rockets

Awadhe Warriors will look to capitalise on home advantage and bounce back to form when they take on the Mumbai Rockets on the final day of their home leg.

(Photo: PBL)

Awadhe Warriors will look to capitalise on home advantage and bounce back to form when they take on the Mumbai Rockets on the final day of their home leg at the Premier Badminton League on Tuesday, 28 January.

With both coming off a loss in their last tie, it will be a stern test of nerves for the two teams.

The Awadhe Warriors suffered a 1-2 loss at the hands of Hyderabad Hunters while the Rockets went down 2-5 to the Pune 7 Aces in their previous outings.

Having begun their campaign on a high with a gritty 4-3 victory over the North Eastern Warriors, the Awadhe Warriors were aiming to continue their winning streak but the Hunters proved to be too strong.

Despite the outcome not going their way, they had a few positives coming out of the match.

Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Cheol's partnership is growing stronger day by day. The pair, who won three BWF titles last year, has taken their confidence into the league and remains unbeaten so far.

Former world No. 10 Wong Wing Ki Vincent gave an effortless display in front of the roaring home fans while Subhankar Dey's stamina and tenacity impressed one and all.

The Warriors also have world No. 14 Beiwen Zhang in their ranks.

"Our last match did not go our way but that hasn't dampened our spirit. The crowd support here has been fantastic. We are looking forward to finishing our home leg with a win," said Zhang.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Rockets will be gunning for their first victory of the season after a disappointing start for the former runners-up that saw them lose to the high-flying Chennai Superstarz and the Pune 7 Aces.

In their two outings so far, they have accumulated just three wins.

Parupalli Kashyap's performance has stood out in spite of the former world No. 6 not able to stitch together a win.

A tight three-game loss to the Tommy Sugiarto was followed by a close defeat to Pune's Loh Kean Yew.