It took the reigning Olympic champion and two-time World champion Carolina Marin to check the unexpected dominance of Delhi Dashers, and keep Hyderabad Hunters in the race for points in the Vodafone Premier Badminton League at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Sunday.
On the new year eve, when the mood was celebration, it was not easy to keep the fans in the stadium, but the sudden resurgence of Delhi added a dramatic twist to the script.
Powered by the Russian dynamos, Ivan Sozonov and Vladimir Ivanov, Delhi got off to a strong start, but Wing Ki Wong Vincent won the second match against Lee Hyun Ill who was playing as the trump for Hyderabad.
The way Lee Hyun Il was toying with his all-court crafty game, quite elegant as a left-hander, it was hard to visualise a revival for Vincent, who had lost some close matches. However, the manner of surrender was hard to comprehend.
In fact, Vincent took so much time to celebrate that Lee had walked away to grab his bag, and the umpire had to tell the Delhi player that he had to follow the basic protocol of shaking hands with his opponent after the match.
It was only the second point for Delhi in the tie, but it meant more, as Hyderabad, leading the table along with two other teams currently with eight points, had a negative point for losing the trump match.
Thus, when Carolina Marin was all grace and poise, stinging repeatedly with venomous shots, Hydeabad could only nullify the disadvantage and reach zero, with the point gained through the Spaniard.
The tie was intriguingly poised with Sai Praneeth playing for Hyderabad against the only Chinese in the league, the former World No. 6 Tian Houwei as the trump, to be followed by the mixed doubles rubber.
The results: Delhi Dashers leads Hyderabad Hunters 2-0 (Ian Sozonov & Vladimir Ivanov bt Markis Kido & Yoo Yeon Seong 15-9, 15-11; Wing Ki Wong Vincent bt (T) Lee Hyun Il 13-15, 15-11, 15-4; Sung Ji Hyun lost to Carolina Marin 10-15, 12-15).