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Badminton

Should include Women's Doubles in the Next Edition of PBL: Gopichand

Should include Womens Doubles in the Next Edition of PBL: Gopichand
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By

Nazrin Mather

Published: 14 Jan 2018 7:35 AM GMT
In the three editions of the Premier Badminton League(PBL) or the first and the only edition of the Indian Badminton League (IBL), women's doubles was never part of the league. So, now chief coach of the Indian badminton team and one of the pioneers of the Premier Badminton League(PBL), Pullela Gopichand has batted for the inclusion of women's doubles in the next edition of league. During the semi final match, Pullela Gopichand spoke to the press and commented that several foreign players are evincing interest about the league. He said, "Within a few years the league has become the best in the world. Wherever I go, several players and coaches are curiously enquiring about the league. Many are already part of it and more shuttlers will feature in it next year." Gopi added that he wants the introduction of women's doubles in it. He further told the press, "Personally I want women's doubles to be part of it at least from next year. Several women shuttlers like the Danish girls -- Christinna Pederson and Kamilla Rytter Juhl -- have been asking us. I also think it is time to include it." Top Chinese men's shuttler Tian Houwei's presence could be seen at the third edition of the league and according to Prasad Mangipudi who is the promoter of the league, Olympic champion Chen Long and other Chinese are likely to be participate in the coming year's leauge. The promoter said to the press, "We had an interaction with Chen Long and he said he may consider coming here next year. We are so excited that many players have skipped their Christmas and New Year celebrations to be here.'
Pullela Gopichand also implicitly mentioned about the changes in the format of the league. He told the press, "As it is the league is attracting huge number of budding youngsters. But we also want to target other groups of audience like moviegoers etc., Though the broadcaster will take the final call, at the end of this edition we will meet and discuss issues about length of the match, timing etc." To everyone's surprise, though the change in the service rule is quite advantageous for the Indian players who are short, Pullela said that the Badminton World Federation (BWF) should have experimented it before introducing. He said, "There is a standardized way of telling whether a service is fault or right. BWF needs to experiment and find it. But to start it off at the All England I would definitely say no, no to that." Jumping down the throat in retort to the new schedule of the Badminton World Federation, Gopichand said to the press, "You should not force tournaments on players. You should make them play because of the facilities you offer or the prize money you give. I am against BWF idea of making it mandatory." With a strong sign of women's doubles happening in next year's league, Pullela Gopichand has put yet another grand step in the field of badminton as well as has stepped into endorsing the motion of development of women's sports.
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