Having staged some convincing performances in the league stage, both Awadhe Warriors and Mumbai Masters will fancy their chances and look to take one more step closer to the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) title when they lock horns in the second semifinal at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here tomorrow.
Mumbai, though qualified for the semifinals as the fourth team, they have some big names in their ranks including World No. 1, Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia), Mark Zwiebler (Germany), Tine Baun (Denmark) and Vladimir Ivanov (Russia), to make them appear strong on paper.
The Warriors, on the other hand, could manage to impress only after initial hiccups. They peaked at the right time, winning their last three ties on the trot to make the last four stage as the second-placed team in the table. And come tomorrow they would expect to continue their good show.
Tomorrow's clash will be the second meeting between the two teams in this tournament.
The Warriors, led by red-hot P V Sindhu, defeated Masters in the league phase 3-2. But Mumbai would be keen to dump that sour defeat in the dock and take inspiration from the games, which they won in the league stages.
The Warriors had a worst beginning in the IBL, losing first two ties, but resilient Sindhu placed her team back on track with exhilarating display of badminton, which she had showcased at the World Championships.
She tightening her shoe-straps to take on a few mighty in the game in this tournament. The World Championship bronze medallist played a huge role in engineering a comeback trail by winning three ties on the trot, showing least respect to table-leaders Pune and Mumbai.
With the spirited and never-say-die attitude in the team, Warriors have enough stuff to ride into the finals.
However, to make this possibility a reality, Sindhu and her teammates will not only have to face a big-tie nervousness syndrome, but also deal with not-so-easy opponents.
