Most people, when they find themselves in a car hurtling down the road at 200 kmph, would be petrified. But then again, most people are not racing drivers. Armaan Ebrahim certainly is one. In fact, he is India’s best circuit racer.

They came, they saw, and yes, they conquered.

Playing their first home game, the Hyderabad Hotshots got off to a roaring start in front of a capacity, decidedly partisan crowd at the G.M.C. Balayogi Stadium on Tuesday as world no. 4 Saina Nehwal extended the lead to 2-0 with a 21-17, 14-21, 11-8 win over Ying Tai Tzu of Chinese Taipei in the women’s singles.

It was just a question of who wanted it more. With a semi-final spot within reach, the Awadhe Warriors looked a hungry lot in their match-up against the Pune Pistons at the G.M.C. Balayogi Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.

It appears as though the troubles plaguing the Indian Badminton League, still in a nascent stage, are going nowhere. Close on the heels of icon players Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa’s ‘devaluation’ in the players’ auction comes a similar complaint, this time from senior men’s doubles pair Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar.

At the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League, most women’s doubles players will be conspicuous by their absence.

From being a tomboy while growing up — to being considered one of the glamour girls in Indian, if not world, badminton, Jwala Gutta has certainly come a long way. And she’s pretty proud of the “adventurous life” she has had.

“Is this what it takes to get your attention?”
It’s the war cry of the Indian Badminton League.
For a tournament wholly inspired by the Indian Premier League, the IBL certainly seems to be trying its hardest to break the mould, if work on their promotional campaign is anything to go by.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad survived a late attack of nerves and negotiated a tricky chase to storm into the IPL-6 playoffs with a thrilling five-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gan

On the one hand, we have Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have performed far better than expected and on the other, we have Kolkata Knight Riders, who are hurting because they are no longer in contention for the knockout stages. Especially, since they’re the defending champions.