Mumbai Smashers Beat Hyderabad Royals, Win Inaugural IPBL Crown with Epic Comeback

Down in deep waters at last place in the early goings, the Quang Duong-led Smashers came roaring back to life, ultimately making it into the Eliminator, where they swept the Lucknow Leopards to book a spot in Qualifier 2. Mumbai continued its fiery rally with a thrilling 4-2 victory over the Chennai Super Warriors to arrange a Finals showdown with the Hyderabad Royals. The Royals, incidentally, also beat the Super Warriors, 4-2, in Qualifier 1 to seal the first Finals berth.

The Mumbai Smashers completed their comeback for the ages with a commanding 5-1 victory over the Hyderabad Royals held over the weekend at KD Jadhav Indoor Hall. Quang Duong led the charge, setting the tone with a dominant 15-4 win over Tejas Gulati and then teaming up with Ammol Ramchandani for a 15-10 victory against the Hyderabad pair of Ben Newell and Divyanshu Kataria. The twin triumphs staked Mumbai to an early 2-0 lead before the bemedalled Megan Fudge bucked an early 2-3 deficit to deliver a 15-5 victory that gave the Royals their first win.

Mumbai, though, returned the favour in Women’s Doubles, where Allison Harris and Pearl Amalsadiwala clawed back from 6-8 down to a 15-10 victory to give the Smashers a commanding 3-1 advantage. With the championship in sight, Mumbai zoomed to an early lead in the Grand Rally before fending off Hyderabad, 21-14, for the title.