PBL: Marin, Sen bring Pune7Aces back into contention against

Reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin and rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen brought Pune7Aces into contention after they overcame their respective opponents of Awadhe Warriorsin the Premier Badminton League (PBL) here Monday.

Before Marins and Sens matches, Pune7Aces were trailing 0-3, but then Marin and Sen won their respective womens singles and second mens singles matches to level the scores to 3-3.

While Marin overcame her opponent Beiwen Zhang in straight sets (15-13, 15-9), Sen got better of his South Korean rival Dong Keun Lee, who is world ranked 27th also in straight sets (15-11, 15-8).

Also Marins match was Punes trump match and her win meant that their side got the much-needed two points.

Marin, who had lost her first game of the tournament against P V Sindhu, was under pressure to perform.

But the only woman to win the World Championships thrice, the Spanish shuttler meant business and routed Zhang after trailing 7-9 in the first game.

Marin then raised the pace of rallies and moved quickly as she pocketed the second game with ease and the match.

Earlier, for Awadhe Warriors, South Korean World number 5 Son Wan-Ho, clinched the opening game after he overcame the challenge of French shuttler Brice Leverdez in straight sets 15-14, 15-7.

Son was in his elements in the second game after taking the first game which went down the wire.

Since it was Awadhes trump game, Sons victory gave the side 2 points and they went 2-0 up.

Sons good work was carried forward by the mens doubles pair of Yang Lee (from Taiwan) and Christiansen Mathias (from Denmark) who defeated the challenge posed by the Pune7Aces pair of Mathias Boe (from Denmark) and 31-year-old Russian Vladimir Ivanov in straight sets 15-12 and 15-14.

Boe and Ivanov, who lost the first game, made a splendid comeback in the second game to make it 14-14 after they were trailing 5-9, but their opponents held their nerve to clinch the deciding point and take the tie 15-14.

Their win gave Awdhe Warriors 3-0 lead.

This was Punes second tie and they had lost their opening tie to Hydrabad Hunters 6-(-1) on Saturday.

The PBL action now shifts to Hyderabad from Tuesday, where games will be held at the Gachibowli Indoor stadium till December 28.