Six marquee players to watch out for in PBL Season 2

New Delhi: With the Premier Badminton League (PBL) only a few days away, we look at the six players whose performances will be vital for their respective teams and worth keeping track of. Jan O Jorgensen - Delhi Acers World number 3 Jan O Jorgensen will be pivotal to the defending champions’ fortunes in the second season as he replaces Season 1 MVP Tommy Sugiarto in the Delhi Acers line-up. The biggest win of his career came recently in the prestigious China Open Super Series where he beat Chen Long in the final to become the first non-Asian to lift the title. The Dane will be, without a doubt, Delhi’s trump card this time in the PBL. Sung Ji Hyun - Mumbai Rockets Currently ranked fifth in the world, Sung Ji Hyun is the in-form women’s singles player in the tournament. The South Korean is a fighter and will be buoyed by her runner-up finish in the Dubai World Super Series where she beat PV Sindhu in the semi-finals. Winner of three titles in 2016, the Rockets will be hoping Sung carries over her good form into 2017. Saina Nehwal - Awadhe Warriors It was an injury-plagued 2016 for Saina Nehwal who eventually underwent knee surgery after Rio 2016. Working towards getting back her groove, she will look to use the PBL as a springboard to attain her best form. With players like Sindhu, Marin and Sung featuring in the tournament, there is enough motivation for Saina to show that 2016 was just a blip in her career. Carolina Marin - Hyderabad Hunters Carolina Marin may have gone off the boil after her triumph at the 2016 Olympics. But, it would be foolhardy to discount the Spaniard as she is ranked number 2 in the world for a reason. With coach Fernando Rivas joining the Hunters as head coach, Marin will be looking to use that to begin 2017 on the right track. Viktor Axelsen - Bengaluru Blasters Another Dane in the list, Viktor Axelsen ended 2016 on a high, winning the Dubai World Super series title. The 23-year old also won the bronze at Rio 2016 brushing aside the mighty Lin Dan. He would want to get one over the likes of countryman Jorgensen and Kidambi Srikanth to show who is the ‘top dog’ in PBL. PV Sindhu - Chennai Smashers PV Sindhu was brilliant for the Smashers last season, winning all the five matches that she played. She looks to have turned a corner in 2016 gaining strength from her silver medal-showing at the Olympics earlier in the year. Chennai will be hoping for another great showing from her in 2017 and will look to improve on their semi-final showing from season 1.