Premier badminton league: Marin fetches highest price, Srikanth costliest Indian
Marin was bagged by Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 61.5 lakh, while Srikanth was bought for Rs 51 lakh by Awadhe Warriors.
New Delhi: Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain emerged as the costliest buy of the second edition of the Premier Badminton League while Kidambi Srikanth fetched the highest amount by an Indian at the players’ auction, here on Wednesday.
Marin was bagged by Hyderabad Hunters for Rs 61.5 lakh, while Srikanth was bought for Rs 51 lakh by Awadhe Warriors. Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu was unlucky to fetch just '39 lakhs despite being the top Indian icon player after her performance at the Rio Games. Chennai Smashers, who had Sindhu in their roster even last year, smartly played the waiting game and didn’t bid for a single player until her name popped out. They got her without much hankering.
Saina Nehwal, who had fetched one of the highest amounts during the first edition, was unsold in the first round of bidding and so was retained by her previous franchise Awadhe Warriors for a base price of '33 lakh. South Korean woman shuttler Sung Ji Hyun emerged as the second costliest player as she went to Mumbai Rockets for '60 lakh, while Denmark’s Jan O’Jorgensen fetched '59 lakh from defending champions Delhi Acers.