The Jwala Gutta-led Krrish Delhi Smashers weakened the hopes of Banga Beats to reach the semifinals after they defeated the hosts 4-1 in the inaugural Indian Badminton League here tonight.
It will not be easy for the Beats when they cross swords with table-toppers Hyderabad Hotshots in Saina Nehwal's backyard. The Hostshots have been in supreme form with fifteen points from four ties.
The contest between the two teams was a one-sided affair as the hosts, for whom it was an humongous task for winning the tie with a huge margin to storm into the last four stage, were completely outplayed and hardly gave any impression of bouncing back.
The saving grace, however, was the Indian ace shuttler Parupalli Kashyap, who gave a rousing start for the Beats by thrashing B Sai Praneeth 21-15, 21-11 to put his team 1-0 ahead of Smashers in the men's singles tie.
After this loss, the Beats are placed at fifth place on the table with nine points from one win and three losses in four ties. They will next play Hotshots on August 27 in Hyderabad.
However, the 4-1 win by Samshers enlivened their hopes of an outside chance of sneaking into the semifinals, provided the hosts and Awadhe Warriors lose their next encounters very badly.
They have now piped P V Sindhu-led Warriors and occupied the fourth place on the table with 13 points compared to 12 bagged by the former. They will play second-placed Pune Pistons, who are sitting pretty with 15 points.
Kashyap and Praneeth won their respective singles as both teams tied at 1-1 in the first two matches of the tie.
Kashyap did not miss a chance to bring his team's campaign back on track by beating giant-killer Praneeth 21-15 21-11 to put his team 1-0 ahead of Smashers in the men's singles tie.
However, the Beats Carolina Marin, who is tagged as the future star from European continent by chief coach U Vimal Kumar, brought disappointment for the fans as she lost the match 17-21, 21-15, 9-11 after coming from behind in the second game, and gave in to the dominating Nichaon Jindapon of Smashers in the deciding game.
