Bengaluru Raptors (previously Banga Beats, Bengaluru Blasters) is a professional badminton franchise representing Bengaluru in the Premier Badminton League (PBL).[1] The team was one of the six founding members of the Premier Badminton League (previously Indian Badminton League) in 2013.

Bengaluru Raptors
SportBadminton
Founded2013 (2013) (renamed as Bengaluru Raptors in 2018)
LeaguePremier Badminton League
Based inBengaluru, India
Home groundKanteerava Indoor Stadium
OwnerSlash21 Sports Management Pvt. Ltd.
Head coachArvind Bhat
CaptainB. Sai Praneeth
Champions2018-19, 2020
Websiteblrraptors.com

The Raptors last featured in season 5 of the Premier Badminton League (2020), finishing as champions for the second time in their history. They previously finished as champions in the 2018-19 edition, defeating the Mumbai Rockets in the final.[2]

Franchise history

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Franchise ownership

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The franchise was initially owned by the conglomerate, BOP group in 2013 before Sachin Tendulkar bought the franchise and named it after his Blasters sports franchises in 2016.[3] In 2018, Matrix Badminton Teamworks Pvt. Ltd. took over the team and renamed it to Bengaluru Raptors. The team is currently owned by Slash21 Sports Management Pvt. Ltd. along with the Kankanala Sports Group.[4]

Franchise participation

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The Bengaluru based franchise first featured in the Indian Badminton League in 2013 under the name Banga Beats.[5] The team's name was later changed to the Bengaluru Topguns and then to Bengaluru Blasters, featuring in the first 3 seasons of the Premier Badminton League recording their best performance in the 2017-18 season, where they finished as runners-up. In the 2018-19 season, the team was officially renamed to Bengaluru Raptors, consequently recording back to back victories in the Premier Badminton League in season 4 and 5 respectively.

Season history

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Sources:[6][7][8][9]

The inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League saw the participation of six teams that begun on the 14th of August 2013. Banga Beats finished 6th in the overall standings in their debut season, recording two victories in five games. After losing their opening game against the Mumbai Masters, they bounced back by recording a win against the Awadhe Warriors. They then went on to face consecutive defeats against the Pune Pistons and the Delhi Smashers before recording a win in their final game against the Hyderabad HotShots. The Hyderabad HotShots finished as champions of that season.

Banga Beats in the Indian Badminton League, 2013
Date Score
League Stage
August 15 Banga Beats 2 - 3 Mumbai Masters
August 18 Banga Beats 4 - 1 Awadhe Warriors
August 23 Banga Beats 1 - 4 Pune Pistons
August 25 Banga Beats 1 - 4 Delhi Smashers
August 27 Banga Beats 3 - 2 Hyderabad HotShots
Final Standings, IBL 2013
Team Pld W L GW GL Pts
Hyderabad Hotshots (C) 5 3 2 14 11 17
Awadhe Warriors (R) 5 3 2 13 12 16
Pune Pistons 5 3 2 13 12 16
Mumbai Marathas 5 2 3 13 12 15
Delhi Smashers 5 2 3 11 14 13
Banga Beats 5 2 3 11 14 13

The maiden season of the Premier Badminton League saw the participation of six teams, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. The Bengaluru based franchise was officially renamed to Bengaluru Topguns for the season and finished at the bottom of the table, recording 10 points in 5 games. The Delhi Dashers finished as the champions of the inaugural season of the PBL.

Bengaluru Topguns in PBL, 2016
Date Score
League Stage
3 January Hyderabad Hunters 3-2 Bengaluru Topguns
5 January Mumbai Rockets 4-3 Bengaluru Topguns
6 January Awadhe Warriors 4-1 Bengaluru Topguns
8 January Delhi Dashers 5-2 Bengaluru Topguns
13 January Chennai Smashers 4-1 Bengaluru Topguns
Final PBL standings, 2016
Pos. Teams MP RMW TMW TML Pts.
1 Delhi Dashers (C) 25 10 5 0 20
2 Awadhe Warriors 25 10 4 1 17
3 Chennai Smashers 25 10 4 1 17
4 Mumbai Rockets (R) 25 9 3 2 13
5 Hyderabad Hunters 25 7 3 2 11
6 Bengaluru Topguns 25 9 2 3 10

* Each tie (MP) will have five matches each. Regular Match Win (RMW) = 1 point, Trump Match Win (TMW) = 2 points, Trump Match Lost (TML) = -1 point

The second edition of the Premier Badminton League featured 6 teams and was held in January 2017. The Bengaluru Topguns were officially renamed to Bengaluru Blasters following a transfer in ownership.[10] The Blasters finished the season at 5th place, recording 14 points in 5 ties. The Bengaluru Blasters recorded their first and only victory of that season in their first match against the Delhi Acers. The Chennai Smashers finished as champions of the second edition of the PBL.

Bengaluru Blasters in PBL, 2017
Date Score
League Stage
1 January Bengaluru Blasters 4-3 Delhi Acers
3 January Bengaluru Blasters 0-5 Chennai Smashers
7 January Bengaluru Blasters 3-4 Hyderabad Hunters
8 January Bengaluru Blasters 1-4 Mumbai Rockets
9 January Bengaluru Blasters 3-4 Awadhe Warriors
Final PBL Standings, 2017
Team TP RMW TMW TML Pts.
Awadhe Warriors 5 11 5 0 21
Mumbai Rockets (RU) 5 12 4 1 19
Chennai Smashers (C) 5 8 5 0 18
Hyderabad Hunters 5 10 3 2 14
Bengaluru Blasters 5 7 3 2 11
Delhi Acers 5 4 3 2 8

* Each tie (MP) will have five matches each. Regular Match Win (RMW) = 1 point, Trump Match Win (TMW) = 2 points, Trump Match Lost (TML) = -1 point

The third edition of the Premier Badminton League saw the participation of eight teams, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. The Bengaluru Blasters finished as runners-up for the season, facing a defeat in the final against the Hyderabad Hunters. The Bengaluru Blasters finished at fourth in the league stage, recording a total of 14 points.

The Blasters recorded two consecutive wins in their first two games against the Delhi Dashers and the Mumbai Rockets respectively and then went on to lose their next three games, ending their league stage campaign with a defeat against the Hyderabad Hunters.[11] A semi-final victory against the Ahmedabad Smash Masters saw the Bengaluru franchise advance into the final for the first time in their history. The Bengaluru Blasters faced defeat in the final against the Hyderabad Hunters.[11]

Bengaluru Blasters in PBL, 2017-18
Date Score
League Stage
28 December Delhi Dashers 2 - 5 Bengaluru Blasters
01 January Bengaluru Blasters 6 - (-1) Mumbai Rockets
05 January Bengaluru Blasters 2 - 3 North Eastern Warriors
08 January Chennai Smashers 3 - 2 Bengaluru Blasters
11 January Hyderabad Hunters 6 - (-1) Bengaluru Blasters
Semi-Final
13 January Bengaluru Blasters 4 - 3 Ahmedabad Smash Masters
Final
14 January Hyderabad Hunters 4 - 3 Bengaluru Blasters
Final PBL Standings, 2017-18
Team TP RMW RML TMW TML Pts.
Hyderabad Hunters (C) 5 13 7 4 1 20
Ahmedabad Smash Masters 5 10 10 4 1 17
Delhi Dashers 5 11 9 3 2 15
Bengaluru Blasters (R) 5 13 7 2 3 14
Awadhe Warriors 5 8 12 3 2 12
Chennai Smashers 5 8 12 3 2 12
North Eastern Warriors 5 5 15 4 1 12
Mumbai Rockets 5 6 14 3 2 10

The fourth edition of the Premier Badminton League featured nine teams with the Pune 7 Aces joining as a new team that season. The Bengaluru Blasters were officially renamed as the Bengaluru Raptors for the season.[12]

After losing the first game of the season against the Ahmedabad Smash Masters, the Raptors managed to win all of their remaining games, going on to defeat the Awadhe Warriors in the semi-final and the Mumbai Rockets in the final to record their maiden Premier Badminton League title.

Bengaluru Raptors in PBL, 2018-19
Date Score
League Stage
28 December Ahmedabad Smash Masters 4 – 3 Bengaluru Raptors
30 December Pune 7 Aces 3 – 4 Bengaluru Raptors
02 January Delhi Dashers 1 – 2 Bengaluru Raptors
05 January Bengaluru Raptors 4 – 3 North Eastern Warriors
08 January Bengaluru Raptors 5 – 0 Mumbai Rockets
10 January Bengaluru Raptors 3 – 2 Chennai Smashers
Semi-Final
11 January Awadhe Warriors 2 – 4 Bengaluru Raptors
Final
13 January Bengaluru Raptors 4 – 3 Mumbai Rockets
Final PBL Standings, 2018-19
Team MP RMW RML TMW TML Pts.
Awadhe Warriors 30 13 11 6 0 25
Hyderabad Hunters 30 15 9 5 1 24
Bengaluru Raptors (C) 30 12 12 5 1 21
Mumbai Rockets (R) 30 13 11 4 2 19
Pune 7 Aces 30 8 16 5 1 17
Chennai Smashers 30 12 12 3 3 15
Ahmedabad Smash Masters 30 7 17 4 2 13
North Eastern Warriors 30 11 13 2 4 11
Delhi Dashers 30 9 15 1 5 6

The fifth edition of the Premier Badminton League featured seven competing teams. The Bengaluru Raptors defeated the Northeastern Warriors in the final to become the first team to win consecutive titles in the competition's history. They recorded 22 points from 6 ties, and finished second in the points table at the end of the league stage.

The Raptors faced three consecutive defeats in their first three games but managed to turn things around and qualify for the semi-final with victories over the Hyderabad Hunters, Mumbai Rockets and Awadhe Warriors without losing a single match in either of the ties.

Bengaluru Raptors in PBL, 2020
Date Score
League Stage
21 January Northeastern Warriors 4–3 Bengaluru Raptors
24 January Chennai Superstarz 4–3 Bengaluru Raptors
27 January Pune 7 Aces 4–3 Bengaluru Raptors
31 January Hyderabad Hunters 0–3 Bengaluru Raptors
31 January Bengaluru Raptors 5–0 Mumbai Rockets
6 February Bengaluru Raptors 5–0 Awadhe Warriors
Semi-Final
8 February Pune 7 Aces 3–4 Bengaluru Raptors
Final
9 February Northeastern Warriors 2–4 Bengaluru Raptors
Final PBL Standings, 2020
Rank Team MP RMW RML TMW TML Pts.
1 Northeastern Warriors (R) 30 13 11 5 1 22
2 Bengaluru Raptors (C) 30 13 11 5 1 22
3 Chennai Superstarz 30 10 14 6 0 22
4 Pune 7 Aces 30 14 10 4 2 20
5 Awadhe Warriors 30 11 13 3 3 14
6 Hyderabad Hunters 30 11 13 2 4 11
7 Mumbai Rockets 30 4 20 4 2 10

Overall season summary

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Year League standing Final standing
2013 6th out of 6 6th Place
2016 6th out of 6 6th Place
2017 5th out of 6 5th Place
2017–18 2nd out of 8 Runners-up
2018–19 1st out of 9 Champions
2020 1st out of 7 Champions

Team roster, 2020

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Source:[13]

Coach   Arvind Bhat
Domestic   Ansal Yadav
  Arun George
  B. Sai Praneeth (C)
  Medha Shashidharan
Overseas   Tai Tzu-ying
  Brice Leverdez
  Rian Agung Saputro
  Chan Peng Soon
  Eom Hye-won

Honours

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Premier Badminton League, 2017-18

  • Runners-up

Premier Badminton League, 2018-19

  • Champions

Premier Badminton League, 2020

  • Champions

References

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  1. ^ "Team Overview". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Home". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  3. ^ "PBL 2017: Sachin Tendulkar picks up stake in Bengaluru Blasters franchise | India.com". www.india.com. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Kankanala Sports Group | sports". Kankanalasports.com. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  5. ^ Sengupta, Rudraneil (24 July 2013). "Indian Badminton League | Who's got the dream team?". Live Mint.
  6. ^ "Banga Beats (theBangaBeats) on Twitter". Twitter.com. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  7. ^ "BOP Group – Top Real Estate Property Consultants In Noida". Bopgroup.in. 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Banga Beats". Facebook. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  9. ^ "IBL-Indian Badminton League 2013 - Indian Sports". Banga Beats. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  10. ^ "PBL 2017: Sachin Tendulkar picks up stake in Bengaluru Blasters franchise | India.com". www.india.com. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b Banerjee, Sudeshna (January 2018). "PBL 2018: Carolina Marin praises Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after Hyderabad Hunters' title win". SportsKeeda.
  12. ^ Roy, Avishek (January 2019). "Premier Badminton League: Ex-players Bhat, Reddy live dream through Bengaluru Raptors". Hindustan Times.
  13. ^ "Team Squad". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 23 January 2020.