Inaugural IBL kicks off today
It is expected to be a rollicking affair when the Indian and international stars clash with each other, playing high-octane badminton in the next 18 days to give the six franchises a chance to win the coveted title.
The
opening ceremony will start at 6:30pm, which will have regular song and
dance shows before the high-profile clash between Delhi and Pune begins
at 8pm.
The
USD one million IBL, which was affected by two postponements and a
myriad of controversies, will begin at the Siri Fort sports complex,
where star shuttler Saina Nehwal had clinched her Commonwealth Games
gold medal in 2010.
A
total of 90 matches will be played as the IBL bandwagon crosses six
cities with each franchise hosting a two-day leg. The top four team will
clash in the semi-finals and the winners will meet in the final on
August 31 in Mumbai.
Jwala
and Ashwini, who won India's first women's doubles bronze at the World
Championship in 2011, will turn foes tomorrow when they led their
respective teams.
Hosts
Delhi boasts of Jwala as their icon player and the star doubles
exponent is likely to pair up with one between the Malaysian world
number two pair of Boon Heong Tan and Kien Keat Koo.
The
Malaysian pair, who won the World Championships bronze and silver at
Hyderabad and Paris in 2009 and 2010 respectively, is the biggest
strength of the Delhi Smashers.
The
format of the matches will be men's singles, women's singles, men's
doubles, men's singles and then mixed doubles, which means the onus will
be on Jwala to take her team home in case her colleagues fail.
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