Nine teams to slug it out in PBL 4 from Saturday

An array of top stars, including Olympic and World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain, and India's Rio Olympics silver medalist P V Sindhu are all set to slug it out in season 4 of the Premier Badminton League that begins here on Saturday.

The other top international stars, who will be seen in action in the nine-team PBL featuring 90 players from 17 countries in all, which is set to conclude in Bengaluru on January 13, are Dane Viktor Axelsen, Lee Yong Dae of Korea and Indians K Srikanth, H S Pranoy and Saina Nehwal.

Pune 7 Aces, spearheaded by Marin, is the new franchise team in the league that will see eight Olympic medalists in action in five cities, including Pune and Ahmedabad, which will be hosting matches for the first time.

The nine teams Delhi Dashers, Ahmedabad Smash Masters, Awadhe Warriors, Bengaluru Raptors, Mumbai Rockets, Hyderabad Hunters, Chennai Smashes, North Eastern Warriors and debutantes Pune 7 Aces would be slugging it out for a total prize fund .