Bengaluru Raptors (previously Banga Beats, Bengaluru Blasters) is a professional badminton franchise representing Bengaluru in the Premier Badminton League (PBL). The team was one of the six founding members of the Premier Badminton League (previously Indian Badminton League) in 2013.
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.
Franchise history
Franchise ownership 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. 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.
Franchise participation The Bengaluru based franchise first featured in the Indian Badminton League in 2013 under the name Banga Beats. 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
Indian Badminton League (IBL), 2013 Sources:
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, 2013DateScoreLeague StageAugust 15Banga Beats2 - 3Mumbai MastersAugust 18Banga Beats4 - 1Awadhe WarriorsAugust 23Banga Beats1 - 4Pune PistonsAugust 25Banga Beats1 - 4Delhi SmashersAugust 27Banga Beats3 - 2Hyderabad HotShots +Final Standings, IBL 2013Team PldWLGWGLPtsHyderabad Hotshots (C)532141117Awadhe Warriors (R)532131216Pune Pistons532131216Mumbai Marathas523131215Delhi Smashers523111413Banga Beats523111413
Premier Badminton League, 2016 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, 2016DateScoreLeague Stage3 JanuaryHyderabad Hunters3-2Bengaluru Topguns5 JanuaryMumbai Rockets4-3Bengaluru Topguns6 JanuaryAwadhe Warriors4-1Bengaluru Topguns8 JanuaryDelhi Dashers5-2Bengaluru Topguns13 JanuaryChennai Smashers4-1Bengaluru Topguns +Final PBL standings, 2016Pos.TeamsMPRMWTMWTMLPts.1Delhi Dashers (C)251050202Awadhe Warriors251041173Chennai Smashers251041174Mumbai Rockets (R)25932135Hyderabad Hunters25732116Bengaluru Topguns2592310 * 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
Premier Badminton League, 2017 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. 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, 2017DateScoreLeague Stage1 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters4-3Delhi Acers3 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters0-5Chennai Smashers7 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters3-4Hyderabad Hunters8 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters1-4Mumbai Rockets9 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters3-4Awadhe Warriors +Final PBL Standings, 2017TeamTPRMWTMWTMLPts.Awadhe Warriors5115021Mumbai Rockets (RU)5124119Chennai Smashers (C)585018Hyderabad Hunters5103214Bengaluru Blasters573211Delhi Acers54328 * 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
Premier Badminton League, 2017-18 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. 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. +Bengaluru Blasters in PBL, 2017-18DateScoreLeague Stage28 DecemberDelhi Dashers2 - 5Bengaluru Blasters01 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters6 - (-1)Mumbai Rockets05 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters2 - 3North Eastern Warriors08 JanuaryChennai Smashers3 - 2Bengaluru Blasters11 JanuaryHyderabad Hunters6 - (-1)Bengaluru BlastersSemi-Final13 JanuaryBengaluru Blasters4 - 3Ahmedabad Smash MastersFinal14 JanuaryHyderabad Hunters4 - 3Bengaluru Blasters +Final PBL Standings, 2017-18TeamTPRMWRMLTMWTMLPts.Hyderabad Hunters (C)51374120Ahmedabad Smash Masters510104117Delhi Dashers51193215Bengaluru Blasters (R)51372314Awadhe Warriors58123212Chennai Smashers58123212North Eastern Warriors55154112Mumbai Rockets56143210
Premier Badminton League, 2018-19 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.
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, 2018-19DateScoreLeague Stage28 DecemberAhmedabad Smash Masters4 – 3Bengaluru Raptors30 DecemberPune 7 Aces3 – 4Bengaluru Raptors02 JanuaryDelhi Dashers1 – 2Bengaluru Raptors05 JanuaryBengaluru Raptors4 – 3North Eastern Warriors08 JanuaryBengaluru Raptors5 – 0Mumbai Rockets10 JanuaryBengaluru Raptors3 – 2Chennai SmashersSemi-Final11 JanuaryAwadhe Warriors2 – 4Bengaluru RaptorsFinal13 JanuaryBengaluru Raptors4 – 3Mumbai Rockets +Final PBL Standings, 2018-19TeamMPRMWRMLTMWTMLPts.Awadhe Warriors3013116025Hyderabad Hunters301595124Bengaluru Raptors (C)3012125121Mumbai Rockets (R)3013114219Pune 7 Aces308165117Chennai Smashers3012123315Ahmedabad Smash Masters307174213North Eastern Warriors3011132411Delhi Dashers30915156
Premier Badminton League, 2020 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, 2020DateScoreLeague Stage21 JanuaryNortheastern Warriors4–3Bengaluru Raptors24 JanuaryChennai Superstarz4–3Bengaluru Raptors27 JanuaryPune 7 Aces4–3Bengaluru Raptors31 JanuaryHyderabad Hunters0–3Bengaluru Raptors31 JanuaryBengaluru Raptors5–0Mumbai Rockets6 FebruaryBengaluru Raptors5–0Awadhe WarriorsSemi-Final8 FebruaryPune 7 Aces3–4Bengaluru RaptorsFinal9 FebruaryNortheastern Warriors2–4Bengaluru Raptors +Final PBL Standings, 2020RankTeamMPRMWRMLTMWTMLPts.1Northeastern Warriors (R)30131151222Bengaluru Raptors (C)30131151223Chennai Superstarz30101460224Pune 7 Aces30141042205Awadhe Warriors30111333146Hyderabad Hunters30111324117Mumbai Rockets304204210
Overall season summary Year League standing Final standing2013 6th out of 6 2016 6th out of 6 2017 5th out of 6 2017–18 2nd out of 8 Runners-up2018–19 1st out of 9 Champions2020 1st out of 7 Champions
Team roster, 2020 Source: Coach Arvind BhatDomestic Ansal Yadav Arun George B. Sai Praneeth (C) Medha ShashidharanOverseas Tai Tzu-ying Brice Leverdez Rian Agung Saputro Chan Peng Soon Eom Hye-won
Honours Premier Badminton League, 2017-18
Runners-up
Premier Badminton League, 2018-19
Champions
Premier Badminton League, 2020
Champions
References