Hyderabad Hunters lead despite Sindhu's loss to Sung Ji Hyun

P V Sindhu suffered a shocking loss to Sung Ji Hyun but defending champions Hyderabad Hunters still looked on course for a win with a 3-1 lead over Chennai Smashers in the Premier Badminton League here Tuesday.

In the women's singles match, Ji Hyun Sung got the better of Olympic and World Championship silver medallist Sindhu 15-13 14-15 15-7.

Hyderabad, who began their campaign with a sweep against newcomers Pune 7 Aces on the opening day in Mumbai, were five points away from their first defeat on their own trump before Kim Sa Rang and Bodin Isara summoned all their guile and experience to turn the tables on B Sumeeth Reddy and Chin Chung Or. They won 13-15 15-12 15-10 and gave their team two crucial points.

Having lost the opening game, Kim and Isara were trailing 4-10 in the second and looked lost against the aggressive approach from the Chennai Smashers men's doubles pair.

But it was the sheer experience of the South Korean-Thai pair that allowed them to not just overcome the ...