Ashwini Ponnappa and her mixed doubles partner Joachim Fischer raised their game under pressure to guide Pune Pistons to a 3-2 win over Mumbai Masters in a see-saw encounter of the Indian Badminton league here.
The two teams were locked 2-2 after four matches before Ponnappa and Fischer sealed it for Pune.
Ponnappa and Fischer defeated Pranav Chopra and Sikki Reddy 21-20, 21-13 to give Pune their second consecutive victory taking them to the top of the points table.
Hero of Mumbai’s win against Banga Beats, Russian Vladmir Ivanov gave his team a good start by defeating Saurabh Verma 21-16, 21-14 in the first match.
Saurabh failed to capitalise on a good start as Vladmir relied on his powerful smashes to outwit the Indian. In the second game, Saurabh offered resistance but Vladmir maintained his dominance and won 21-14.
The next match was played between world number three Juliane Schenk of Pune and number 11 shuttler Tine Baun of Mumbai. Schenk lost the first game but came back fiercely in the second and third to beat Baun 11-21, 21-10, 11-7.
The third match went to Mumbai in which Vladmir once again displayed his power-game. He and his Indian partner Pranav Chopra defeated Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas of Pune by 21-12, 20-21, 11-9.
The fourth match was played between Tien Minh Nguyen of Pune and Mumbai’s Marc Zwiebler which the former won by 21-18, 21-13.
Hyderabad take on Pune Pistons
Mumbai: Following back-to-back victories in their first two ties, high-flying Pune Pistons would be aiming to provide stiff competition to the Saina Nehwal-spearheaded Hyderabad Hotshots in their Indian Badminton league contest here on Monday.
Julinane Schenk, the German powerhouse who, at number four, is one rung below Saina in the world badminton women’s singles rankings, looms as a major threat to the Hotshots who had beaten Awadhe Warriors 3-2 in their opening clash at Delhi on August 15.
The expected match-up between these two top women’s players in the world would be the highlight of the tie and should thrill the capacity crowd in the newly-built arena.
Hotshots would be eager to put behind their 2-3 reversal at the hands of Delhi.