No Venue to Host PBL Finals and Semi-Finals: Bengaluru Raptors

The upcoming edition of the Premier Badminton League gets underway on January 20.

Bengaluru Raptors on Thursday expressed their inability to host the final and semi-finals of the upcoming Premier Badminton League (PBL) due to "unavailability" of venue.

In a series of tweets, Bengaluru Raptors made it clear that due to the unavailability of the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, they might not be able to host the scheduled matches.

1/5 Dear badminton players and Bengaluru Raptors fans, unfortunately it looks like this year we may not be able to have the Premier Badminton League finals in Namma Bengaluru. We have been requesting availability of Kanteerava stadium for several months now.

— Bengaluru Raptors (@blr_raptors) January 9, 2020

2/5 However some officials have prevented the PBL finals from happening here. Bengaluru is a badminton city and the home of none other than the great Prakash Padukone. It’s also the best badminton city in India and boasts of the most enthusiastic fans.

— Bengaluru Raptors (@blr_raptors) January 9, 2020

3/5 It’s a real shame that badminton fans in the city are going to be deprived of this opportunity to watch the best players in the world - Sindhi and Tai Tzu play. We have written to the Chief Ministers office requesting their intervention and help resolve this issue.

— Bengaluru Raptors (@blr_raptors) January 9, 2020

Kanteerava stadium is the best venue for badminton but certain officials at Kanteerava stadium have laid claim to the stadium and are doing their very best to sabotage this event from happening.

— Bengaluru Raptors (@blr_raptors) January 9, 2020

5/5 In the interest of the sport, we appeal to the Honorable CM of Karnataka to intervene and make this event happen in namma Bengaluru. @BJP4Karnataka @BSYBJP @TimesNow @timesofindia @timesnowsports @PBLIndiaLive

— Bengaluru Raptors (@blr_raptors) January 9, 2020

The upcoming edition of the PBL is scheduled to start on January 20 when reigning world champion PV Sindhu's team Hyderabad Hunters faces Chennai Superstarz in Chennai.

A total of 24 ties will be played in 21 days in four different cities.

After the first leg in Chennai, the league will move to Lucknow on January 25, followed by Hyderabad, with Bangalore then being the host for the semi-finals and the finals on February 9.