Premier shuttle league to return to Chennai

It may be recalled that Chennai did not get any matches last season because of “unavoidable circumstances” as the edition was held in the first week of January 2017. The city’s franchisee Chennai Smashers went on to lift the PBL title under the guidance of Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu. It remains to be seen whether Sindhu will be retained by Chennai Smashers.

Preparations were afoot to bring back top badminton to Chennai after the smashing success of the city franchisee.

Recently, Chennai hosted the National Junior Ranking Tournament. The news of Chennai hosting the league is expected to be announced at the Owners Workshop of PBL, slated for this week in the city.

The previous two editions were held in January, while the first was in August 2013 when it was held under the auspices of the Badminton Assocation of India and called the Indian Badminton League. It is not known whether PBL 2018 will also be held in January or much before.

A source in the Tamil Nadu Badminton Association said the venue of PBL 2018 would be the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium at Periamet.

Chennai’s prospects bright Chennai has grown in badminton stature of late and is considered a future reservoir by many. Renowned coach Pullela Gopichand has gone on record stating that it has excellent infrastructure and facilities required for the sport.