Pune 7Aces to begin PBL campaign with clash against Mumbai Rockets

India's Chirag Shetty and experienced Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia will lead the charge as Pune 7Aces begin their Premier Badminton League (PBL) campaign with a clash against Mumbai Rockets at the Babu Banarasi Das badminton academy here on Saturday. The team which is co-owned by Bollywood superstar-Taapsee Pannu and Kri Entertainment will be seen competing in their second season after entering the tournament in 2018. Pune 7Aces is led by doubles star Chris Adcock and consists of players like Indian men's doubles sensation Chirag, who along with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are currently ranked 10th in the world. 

The Indian duo had won the Thailand Open Super 500 and finished runners-up at the French Open Super 750 last year. Chirag's pairing with Beijing Olympic gold medallist Setiawan will be one of interest for badminton fans across India. The men's singles department for the team will be led by Singapore's Loh Kean Yew, who is currently ranked 36th in the world. The 22-year-old rose to fame when he won Thailand Masters in 2019, defeating two-time Olympic Champion Lin Dan in the final. 

He will be accompanied by the 29-year-old Kazumasa Sakai of Japan, who was a silver medallist with the Japan team at the 2018 Thomas and Uber Cup. The mixed doubles category will see the experienced and famous Adcock pairing taking centre stage.  The English pairing of Chris and Gabrielle are two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and are currently ranked 12th in the world.

The women's singles category will feature two Indian shuttlers in the form of Mugdha Agrey and Rituparna Das.  It will be a chance for both not only to learn but also to show the world what they can do when given a chance. In addition, in men's singles and mixed doubles categories, will also feature Indian youngsters like the 21-year-old Mithun Manjunath and 22-year-old MR Arjun respectively.