During the Premier Badminton League's 5th season auction on Tuesday, PV Sindhu was kept by the Hyderabad Hunters for 77 lakhs. The Bengaluru Raptors, the reigning champions, also spent 77 lakhs to secure Tai Tzu Ying, the world's number one women's singles player, after outbidding the Pune Seven Aces. Additionally, a 19-year-old player moved to the Chennai Superstarz for a substantial 62 lakhs, noting their happiness to join the team and the prospect of playing in a city where they have many friends.
World champion PV Sindhu, was on Tuesday reserved by Hyderabad Hunters for seventy seven lakhs in the auction for the 5th season of the Premier Badminton League. World number one women’s singles Chinese player Tai Tzu Ying Taipei was also bought for joint highest amount of seventy seven lakhs by defending champions Bengaluru Raptors after a bidding war with the Pune seven Aces. The 19 years old finally went to the Chennai Superstarz for a whopping sixty two lakhs. “I am really happy to be a part of the Chennai team. I have many friends in Chennai and I am looking forward to play there.
Only two other players broke the 50-lakh barrier: South Korean doubles expert Ko Sung Hyun, ranked 22nd globally, who joined the Awadhe Warriors for 55 lakhs, and Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, ranked 24th in singles, who was picked up by the North Eastern Warriors for 50 lakhs.
Parupalli Kashyap, the 2014 Commonwealth Games winner, became the second most expensive Indian player after being sold to the Mumbai Rockets for 43 lakhs. He was followed by Lakshya Sen, who entered the auction riding a wave of success with four titles won in the previous two months.
The Bengaluru Raptors also added top Indian player Praneeth to their squad for 32 lakhs. Other Indian players who stayed with their current teams included doubles specialists Sumeeth Reddy, retained by Chennai Superstarz for 11 lakhs, and Chirag Shetty, who remained with the Pune 7 Aces for 15.5 lakhs.
The Awadhe Warriors retained American singles player Beiwan Zhang, currently world number nine, for 39 lakhs, while the North Eastern Warriors signed local Assamese talent Ashmita Chaliha for 3 lakhs. However, the upcoming season faces a slight dip in star power; London Olympics bronze winner Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth have both opted out of the 2020 event to prioritize their international schedules.
A total of 154 athletes participated in the auction, featuring names like Sai Praneeth, Lakshya Sen, and the doubles duo of S Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The next PBL season will showcase 74 Indian players and is scheduled to run from January 20th to February 9th, 2020.