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.
The Raptors last featured in season 5 of the Premier Badminton League (2020), finishing as champions for the second time in the their history. They previously finished as champions in the 2018-19 edition, defeating the Mumbai Rockets in the final.[2]
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 the Kankanala Sports Group, a sports management firm based in Hyderabad.[3]
The Bengaluru based franchise first featured in the Indian Badminton League in 2013 under the name Banga Beats.[4] The team's name was later changed to Bengaluru Blasters and featured in the first 3 seasons of the Premier Badminton League recording their best performance in the 2017-18 season, finishing 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 and ended the season as champions, defeating the Mumbai Rockets in the final.
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.
Arvind Bhat
Tai Tzu-ying
Brice Leverdez
Rian Agung Saputro
Chan Peng Soon
Eom Hye-won
