Srikanth keeps Bengaluru Raptors in hunt for semi-final berth at PBL
Bengaluru Raptors' skipper Kidambi Srikanth led from the front against Mumbai Rockets to keep his team in the hunt for a semi-final berth at the Premier Badminton League Season 4 here on Tuesday.
Bengaluru needed a minimum of four points to move into the top 4 and they were successful in their attempt as they won the first three matches, including a Trump, to knock the Pune 7 Aces out at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium.
World No. 18 Anders Antonsen of Mumbai put up a brilliant performance against an unbeaten Srikanth but fell short at the end in each game as the former World No. 1 sealed a narrow 15-14, 15-13 victory.
Ten ranking places separate World No. 8 Srikanth and the Dane but Antonsen refused to let that matter.
With an array of body smashes, Srikanth went up to 8-5 but Antonsen came storming back to 9-9. With the two tied at 13-13, the Dane made it 14-13 and had a game point which Srikanth erased with aplomb by taking the next two points.
The second game turned out to be as ...