Bengaluru Blasters open PBL-3 campaign on Viktor-ious note
New Delhi: Reigning world champion Viktor Axelsen helped Bengaluru Blasters kickstart their Premier Badminton League (PBL) Season-3 campaign with a 5-2 win over Delhi Dashers at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Thursday.
Trusted with the trump match, the World No.1 Axelsen hardly broke a sweat to thrash Delhi's World No.22 Tian Houwei 15-11, 15-11 in straight games and give the visitors an unassailable 4-2 lead after both the sides were locked at 2-2 till the third match of the evening.
Playing their first match of the season, Bengaluru gained an early 1-0 lead with the mixed doubles duo of N. Sikki Reddy and South Korean Kim Sa Rang winning the opener against Vladimir Ivanov and Ashwini Ponnappa 15-10, 12-15, 15-11.
Bengaluru then doubled their lead after World No.45 Malaysian Chong Wei Feng upset World No.15 Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent 10-15, 15-13, 15-8 in the men's singles tie before World No.6 Sung Ji-Hyun helped Delhi draw level by winning the trump match against Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour 15-10, 8-15, 15-5.
But the turning point in the contest came after the second men's singles tie between Axelsen and Houwei.
Fresh from his title defence at the season-ending Dubai Superseries Finals,the Odonese-born shuttler cruised to a 8-6 lead at the break in the opening game before comfortably pocketing it 15-11.
Axelson, who won two Superseries titles at India and China before finishing runner-up at the China Open, continued his dominance in the second game against Tian to race to a 8-4 lead first before sealing it in his favour.
Earlier, Bengaluru gained the early momentum with Sikki and Kim prevailing in the opening mixed doubles match.
The Delhi duo of Ashwini and Ivanov started well taking a 8-6 lead at the break in the opening game before the Bengaluru combo came from behind to win it handsomely.
In the second game, Ashwini and her Russian partner Ivanov upped the ante despite trailing 7-8 at the break but came back strongly to take the match to the decider.
Sikki and Kim, however cruised to a 4-1 lead early on in the final game before racing to 8-5 at the breather. Coming back, the Bengaluru pair did not allow any freebies to the home duo and went on to clinch the affair comfortably.
Bengaluru then made it 2-0 in their favour after their Malaysian import Feng upset World No.15 Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent 10-15, 15-13, 15-8 in the men's singles tie.
Trailing 0-2, Delhi had their hopes pinned on World No.6 Sung Ji-Hyun in their trump match and the South Korean responded in style by beating Scottish Kirsty 15-10, 8-15, 15-5 in the women's singles encounter.
The first game tilted both ways with the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist taking a slender 8-7 lead at the breather before the South Korean Sung brought Delhi back strongly.
World No.16 Kirsty, however bounced back in the second breezing with a 8-4 lead and went on to stretch it further to 13-6 before taking the tie to the decider.
The final game witnessed a complete turnaround for the home side, with the Indonesia Open runner-up cruising with a 8-3 lead at the break before extending it further to 11-3 and eventually making it 15-5 to restore parity for the hosts.
Bengaluru then made it 5-2 after the men's doubles pair of Mathias Boe and Kim Sa Rang beat Russian pair of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov 15-9, 15-12 in straight games in the inconsequential fifth and final match of the evening.
On Friday, Calorina Marin-led Hyderabad Hunters will face Ahmedabad Smash Masters in the third match of the Delhi leg of the league.
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BCB official calling Tamim 'an Indian agent' invites wrath of Bangladesh players
Dhaka (PTI): A senior Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official calling former captain Tamim Iqbal "an Indian agent" has not gone down well with the players in the country.
Tamim, one of the finest openers to have come out of Bangladesh, had advised the BCB to not be driven by emotion while deciding the way forward on the national team's participation in the T20 World Cup in India.
Nazmul, chairman of BCB finance committee, called the left-hander opener "an Indian agent" in a Facebook post.
"This time, the people of Bangladesh witnessed, with their own eyes, the emergence of yet another proven Indian agent," he wrote.
The post received immediate backlash from former and current cricketers, including Taskin Ahmed, Momimul Haque and Taijul Islam.
Even the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) expressed shock at Nazmul's comments.
"A comment made by BCB director M Nazmul Islam regarding former national captain Tamim Iqbal has come to the attention of the Cricketers' Welfare Association of Bangladesh. We are stunned, shocked, and outraged by it.
"Such a remark by a board official about the most successful opener in Bangladesh's history, who represented the country for 16 years, is utterly condemnable.
"Not only because it concerns a player like Tamim, but such comments about any cricketer of the country are unacceptable and insulting to the entire cricketing community," the players' body said in a statement.
The 36-year-old Tamim played 70 Tests, 243 ODIs and 78 T20 Internationals for his country in a fairly accomplished career.
"We strongly protest against this comment. When a responsible board director makes such remarks on a public platform, it also raises serious questions about the code of conduct of board officials," it said.
"We have already submitted a protest letter to the BCB president, demanding a public apology from the concerned board director and that he be brought under accountability. We hope the BCB president will take appropriate action as soon as possible," CWAB added.
Bangladesh wrote to the International Cricket Council to move their T20 World Cup games out of India after the BCCI instructed IPL franchise KKR to release Mustafizur Rahman ahead of the 2026 edition without giving a specific reason.
"Cricket is the life of Bangladesh. A recent comment surrounding a former national captain who has made a major contribution to the game has caused many to reflect," said pacer Taskin.
"I believe that such remarks directed at a former cricketer of the country are not helpful in the interest of Bangladesh cricket. I hope the concerned authorities will consider the matter seriously and adopt a more responsible stance in the future," he said.
Mominul added: "The comment made by BCB director M Nazmul Islam regarding former national captain Tamim Iqbal is completely unacceptable and insulting to the country's cricketing community. Such behaviour towards a cricketer is in direct conflict with the board's responsibility and ethics," said Mominul.
"A senior cricketer was not given even the minimum respect; instead, he was deliberately humiliated in public. Such remarks show a lack of even basic decorum regarding where and how to speak while holding such a high responsibility.
"I strongly condemn this comment and firmly demand a public apology from the concerned director and that he be brought under accountability. I call upon the BCB to take swift and strict action," said Mominul.
