Ashwini Ponnappa, PV Sindhu, Carolina Marin, Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi and coach Gopichand during the launch of PBL season 4 in Mumbai. (Express photo: Nirmal Harindran)The call for decorum had to be repeated over and over again, till finally, the players decided to take their seats. A few, including a certain Carolina Marin, had to be ushered to their chairs on stage, in a banquet hall of a posh city hotel. The occasion was to mark the eve of the fourth season of the Premier Badminton League (PBL).
There was a rather peculiar tone to their behavior, particularly since this was just a day before the start of another big event. There was no hint of cut-throat competition, instead there were smiles all around.
The thing about the PBL is that it’s an exhibition tournament, based on a formula that mixes competition with, quite simply, a celebration of badminton.
“For us,” offers Nehwal, skipper of the North Eastern Warriors this term, “it’s something like a festival that we get to enjoy for three weeks. Where we can see so many different matches that we don’t get to see on the international circuit.”
That’s what has prompted the biggest names on the tour to attend the nine-team event despite the fact that it is being slotted at the end of a season where ‘scheduling’ has been the players’ biggest adversary.
At the start of the 2018 calendar year, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) – the governing body of the sport – implemented a rule that made it compulsory for the top players to compete in 12 events. That in itself was a taxing proposition for the players. And it didn’t help that the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games as well as the annual World Championship also fell in this year’s calendar.
“The schedule has definitely been hectic,” says world no 3 PV Sindhu, captain of Hyderabad Hunters. “We have to pick and choose tournaments. It’s not easy for players to give their 100 percent and be in top form always. We have to figure that out and plan accordingly so we can give our best at every event.”
The 23-year-old, just last week, became the first Indian ever to win the BWF World Tour Finals. In a few more weeks, the 2019 badminton season will commence leaving not much scope for pre-season training. It’s a problem that has affected most of the top players this season.
“It’s tough,” Nehwal adds. “Some (tournaments) aren’t easy to play in because you feel tired or you’re just not mentally ready for it. Injuries are also plaguing most of the players, mostly towards the end of the season. But then again, there is no such ‘end of season.'”
For the few weeks the players manage to get free-time though, the PBL comes in.
“The league is held in December because that’s the only window that BWF gives us,” explains Atul Pande, managing director of Sportzlive, the official licensee of the PBL. “We’d like to do it in August or July, because there’s a slight break in the tour. But the BWF only allows us time now. So what we do from our side is that we try to give players breaks between every match. On the tour they play everyday, here it’s once every three odd days. It’s a bit easier on the players.”
By no means is the cash-rich PBL a compulsory event. But it is one the players cherish.
“It’s not the same as a regular tournament. This is a team event that you enjoy playing, and it’s hardly there in the calendar,” Nehwal says.
For the fourth time, the end of the year will be marked by a three week badminton carnival that will coincide with the New Year festivities. And the players are preparing, and looking forward to that. They chatter endlessly, smiles galore, at any opportunity they get, be it on or off the stage.
The expectations are the same – to win. But the pressure in the PBL is shared over a team rather than just an individual, and so, is comparatively benign.
Off court the friendships will be allowed to blossom. But those rivalries that generate the most attention on tour will register another clash as the season commences. And as the PBL kicks-off, on Saturday in Mumbai, the opening tie will be noted for the face-off between Marin (Pune 7 Aces) and Sindhu – when the smiles will turn to snarls.
