Bengaluru: Raptors edged out Awadhe Warriors 4-2 in the first semifinal of the Premier Badminton League at the Sree Kanteereva Indoor stadium here on Friday. They await the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between Hyderabad Hunters and Mumbai Rockets.
The tie started with the mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Christiansen Mathias drawing first blood for the Warriors. They beat Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith 15-7, 15-10.
Awadhe’s usage of the trump match in the mixed doubles gave them a head start as they went 2-0 up.
Raptors pulled one back through B. Sai Praneeth, who beat Dong Keun Lee in straight games 15-9, 15-4.
Srikanth Kidambi looked to continue the momentum against Awadhe’s Wan Ho Son as he wrapped up the match at 15-7, 15-10. The scoreline read 2-2 at the end of the third match in the tie.
The men’s doubles match turned out to be the decider as the Raptors opted for their trump match. Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan closed out the first game against Christiansen & Lee at 15-14 before running away with the second 15-9 to close the tie with a match to spare.
