The IPL is a catalyst for the growth of their business,” said Johri. Ironically, she gets asked every time she wins a doubles title, if it’s her last. into the court to attack Pliskova’s second serve on an unseasonably cool day in New York. l player vying for digital rights for the rest of the world, Johri said that the possibility cannot be ruled out. Badminton in Asia comes with its superstitions and a Japanese expat believes fans ruined Long’s campaign by chasing him for autographs. The strategy paid off as she broke Pliskova in her first two service games to take a 3-1 lead and captured the first set with an emphatic overhead smash. And a Prince without ostentatious pomp … there was more to last week’s badminton World Championship than the action on court. “We have good attacking players but we need someone in the middle of the park who can spray the passes, switch the play quickly and play at a tempo that Gareth likes. He’s expected to bother Lin Dan with slow courts as well as his strong-shouldered smash giving him the edge. Sharapova, the champion in New York in 2006, returned from a 15-month doping ban in April but was refused a wildcard for the French Open while injury ruled her out of Wimbledon.