Pune 7 Aces scored a hard-fought 2-1 win over Hyderabad Hunters to take its tally to 20 and qualified for the semifinals of the Premier Badminton League at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.
Hunters finished their engagements with 11 points and bowed out.
In men’s doubles, Aces’ Chirag Shetty and former World champion Hendra Setiawan combined well to outplay Ben Lane and Sean Vendy.
The 18-year-old Priyanshu, ranked World No. 284 and playing the Trump match for Hunters, lost to the more experienced Mithun Manjunath in a thriller.
In the first game, Manjunath’s better court coverage and telling smashes helped him win 15-11. A more aggressive Priyanshu won the second, predominantly scoring points with down-the-line smashes. In the decider, Manjunath raced away to an 8-2 lead before Priyanshu levelled, clinching the next six points.
With the match tied at 13, Priyanshu returned deep, but saw Mithun unleash two powerful cross-court returns which saw no reply.
“The shuttle was very fast and I was playing my first match in the PBL. It is a very satisfying win in a very tough match,” said a delighted Mithun.
P.V. Sindhu ensured Hunters got their first point when she outclassed the young and inexperienced Rituparna Das.
In mixed doubles, a Trump match for Aces’ Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock, the left-right combine of Vladimir Ivanov and N. Sikki Reddy of Hunters won the battle of big smashes and smart net-play to make it 1-1.
World No. 37 Loh Kean Yew of Pune defeated World No. 28 Sourabh Verma in the final contest to seal it for Aces.
The results: Pune 7 Aces bt Hyderabad Hunters 2-1 (Chirag Shetty & Hendra Setiawan 15-12, 15-9; Mithun Manjunath bt Priyanshu Rajawat (T) 15-11, 11-15, 15-13; Rituparna Das lost to P.V. Sindhu 7-15, 8-15; Chris Adcock & Gabrielle Adcock (T) lost to Vladimir Ivanov & N. Sikki Reddy 9-15, 15-11, 8-15; Loh Kean Yew bt Sourah Verma 15-14, 15-10).
