Sai Praneeth, Tai Tzu take Bengaluru Raptors to second consecutive PBL title win

Bengaluru Raptors on Sunday became the first team to successfully defend their title as they defeated North Eastern Warriors 4-2 in the summit clash of the Premier Badminton League here.

World Championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth and world No. 2 Tai Tzu Ying led the Bengaluru Raptors from the front before the mixed doubles pair of Chan Peng Soon and Eom Hye Won sealed the win over the North Eastern Warriors, who were in the final for the first time.

With the two teams locked 2-2 in the overall tie after the first the three matches, it was left to their respective mixed doubles pairs to push them ahead.

Bengaluru's Trump pair of Olympic silver medallist Chan Peng Soon and two-time World Championships medallist Eom Hye Won showed their vast experience to pull off a 15-14, 14-15, 15-12 win over the Warriors' Krishna Prasad Garaga and former world No. 1 Kim Ha Na and bag the tie for the Raptors.

Soon and Won showed nerves of steel to win the tight first game. In a topsy-turvy ...