IBL: Players buoyed by overwhelming crowd support

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Just like the alarming rise in the dollar rate, controversies reared up in the IBL constantly . From auction heartburn to shabby venues and players' dissatisfaction the negative hype surrounding the League left a bad taste.
Amidst all the off-court drama, one sunny aspect for the IPL-style extravaganza has been the spectators' support.
From spunky college students to celebrities, everyone lapped up the on-court action involving some of the biggest names in the world of bad minton. Although the event was played on a city-based franchisee format, the matches were not conceptualised on a home and away concept. That did not stop people from turning out in big numbers to watch star players like World No.1 Lee Chong Wei, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap.
Add to this the glamour quotient of Mumbai Masters co-owner, Telugu cine star Nagarjuna and badminton buffs like cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, GR Viswanath, Rahu Dravid, Ajit Agarkar who showed solidarity towards the thriving sport in our country, the response to the inaugural event was encouraging.
Speaking about the crowd support for the League Spanish ace Carolina Marin who played for Bengaluru based Banga Beats said, “I have played in the Spanish and Danish Leagues, but the atmosphere there is nothing like here. In the IBL, the crowd support was electrifying. The audience in India have been extremely supportive and that made a lot of difference.“
Many players like India's latest sensation Sindhu felt the support of the fans helped them up their game several notches. Sindhu, the icon player for Lucknow-based Awadhe Warriors was quite the darling of the fans even in away matches.
The 18-year-old Hyderabadi lass, who won the bronze medal at the World Championships earlier this month, said, “In my League match against Tine Baun of Mumbai Masters, I was feeling very low in the second game but the crowd support helped me keep up the energy. Thank you Bengaluru.“
For the spectators, it was all about supporting a quality player, even if it meant backing someone from the opponent's side.
Banga Beats' star attraction Kashyap, was touched by the response of the Warriors' home audience who supported him when he took on the hosts' challenger K Srikanth.
“I injured my ankle in the second set but the cheering crowd pulled me along. There was no way I could have let down a crowd so supportive,“ admitted the 26-year-old.
The beacon of Indian badminton, Saina believes that the IBL has helped in popularising the sport.
“I am happy that badminton is growing in popularity and IBL has been instrumental in really increasing the interest levels,“ said the ace player.
Among the six teams, only one emerged the winner, but , surely the ones who walked away with the top prize were the badminton buffs.