Defending champions Hyderabad Hunters start with win as PBL kicks off

Agencies
December 23, 2018

Mumbai, Dec 23: Hyderabad Hunters proved that they are primed to defend the title they won last year when they took an unassailable lead of 3-0 lead over newcomers Pune 7 Aces in the Premier Badminton League that started here Saturday. They took the lead even before PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin took the court for the marque encounter of the fourth season, scoring 4-(-1) points. The Pune team sprung a surprise by fielding junior world championship bronze medallist Lakshya Sen for the opening men's singles tie and the 18-year-old almost pulled off an upset against world number 35 Mark Caljouw.

The youngster was solid in defence and showcased some of his trick shots but it was Caljouw who had the last laugh as he bagged the first point for Hunters 10-15, 15-12, 15-14 on the decider point. Sen kicked off the proceedings of the fourth season with a mixture of sliced drops and down the line smashes and followed them up with quick tap on the net to win points in the opening game.

The Asian junior champion went into the mid game interval of the first game leading 8-6 and though Caljouw tried to fight back with an aggressive game plan, the Indian was always in control and wrapped up the game 15-10. In the second game, Sen opened up a 4-0 lead before Caljouw fought back with four straight points and then started to test the Indian's patience by playing longer rallies.

The ploy worked as he managed to win four of the next six points to open up an 8-6 lead at the midgame interval and it looked like the Dutchman would runaway with the second game when he opened up a 13-9 lead. Lakshya, however, managed to close the gap to just one point before a slip between the rally cost him the point and Caljouw wrapped up the game on the first opportunity.

But the late fightback seemed to have rejuvenated Sen who raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider and changed ends with a five-point advantage at 8-3. However, it was the experience of world number 35 Caljouw that mattered the most in the final analysis as he forced the youngster out of his comfort zone and pulled the match off on the decider point by suddenly changing the speed of the rally.

Pune 7 Aces then suffered a major reversal when they lost their trump match. Team skipper Mathais Boe and Chirag Shetty won the opening game but could not maintain the momentum and lost 13-15, 15-10, 15-10 against Kim Sa Rang and Bodin Isara. Boe and Shetty played well in patches but Kim came up with some exceptional shots under pressure to turn the tables to reduce the Pune 7 Aces to -1 on the points table.

The experienced Lee Hyun Il wrapped up the tie for the Hunters when he defeated Brice Leverdez 15-14, 15-12 in a rather one-sided encounter.

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News Network
March 27,2024

IPLbettingsuicide.jpg

Bengaluru: Darshan Babu is an engineer who is fond of betting on cricket matches and has been placing major bets on Indian Premier League (IPL) games since 2021. He often borrows money after losing a bet, or to place one when he is short on funds. His 23-year-old wife, tired of the constant harassment by creditors, died by suicide.

Ranjitha was found hanging at her home in Karnataka's Chitradurga on March 18. According to the family, Darshan had racked up a debt of over Rs 1 crore.

He worked as an assistant engineer in the Minor Irrigation Department at Hosadurga and had been ensnared in the realm of IPL betting from 2021 to 2023. This took a major toll on the couple's finances. Allegedly, he had borrowed over Rs 1.5 crore to place bets after his luck ran out and he lost all his money. While he managed to return Rs 1 crore, cops say that he still has a pending loan of ₹ 84 lakh.

Ranjitha married Darshan in 2020. She realised the truth about Darshan's involvement in betting in 2021, claims her father Venkatesh.

In his complaint, Venkatesh said that his daughter was extremely distressed due to the constant harassment by moneylenders and this led to her suicide. He has also named 13 men who had allegedly lent the money.

He said that his son-in-law was lured into betting with a promise of quick money.

"He (Darshan) was not willing to get into betting, but the suspects forced him saying it was an easy way to get rich. They promised to finance his betting activities against some blank cheques as security," he said.

Cops during their investigation found a suicide note, where she detailed the harassment they faced. Darshan and Ranjitha have a two-year-old son.

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