Now, IPL-type Indian Badminton League

October 24, 2012

ipl_badminton

New Delhi, October 24: Call it the Saina effect. Badminton is all set to take a superfast shuttle to new heights with the launch of the Indian Badminton League (IBL), a million-dollar event which could change of the face of the sport worldwide.

The IBL, based on a franchise model and tentatively scheduled to be held from January 20 to February 11 next year, would have $1 million (approx Rs 5.5 crore) as prize money, the highest for any badminton tournament in the world, sources close to the event told TOI on Tuesday.

Encouraged by the reaction of the public as well as that of sponsors to the success of Indian players, particularly Saina Nehwal, in recent times, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has planned to hold the event more or less on the lines of the Indian Premier League.

Sources said the event, which will have six city-based franchises, would try to rope in top players from countries like China, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia and other country with "hefty appearance fees".

Former India stars like Pullela Gopichand and Pradeep Gandhe are part of the governing council of the IBL which has BAI's president Akhilesh Das Gupta as chairman.

Badminton legend Prakash Padukone has been approached to come on board as an advisor. BAI has asked Sporty Solutionz Pvt Limited to plan and execute the event.

Sources said the IBL organizers are planning to rope in Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone, daughter of Prakash, besides former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, a former member of the IPL governing council.

"Aamir is known to be an avid badminton fan and has always encouraged Saina (Nehwal), while Deepika not only carries the famous Padukone surname but was a state-level player herself," sources said.

They added that Aamir was most likely to be offered the 'brand ambassador' role for IBL and Deepika will most probably be one of the city-based franchisee owners. "Gavaskar is being approached to play a big role in the IBL."

When contacted, IBL governing council member Gandhe, who's the president of Maharashtra Badminton Association, the nodal agency for the event, told TOI that he was not aware of details for the event since Sporty Solutionz Pvt Limited was in charge of executing it.

"We are holding this tournament with some goals in mind. First, it's aimed at creating more and more opportunities for Indian players. Then, it will help participation of top players in India which is good for the sport in the country. It will also help upcoming players as they would be getting a chance to play the world's top stars," said Gandhe, winner of two bronze medals in the 1982 Asian Games.

Times View

The launch of a badminton league along the lines of the IPL is a most welcome development. Along with the fact that India had its largest haul of medals at the recent Olympics, it is a sign of the fact that the country is beginning to make strides in sports other than cricket.

For any sports lover, that is good news. None of the sports should be seen as competing with each other. On the contrary, the more a variety of sports flourish, the more each will get enriched by a genuine culture of sports and physical fitness, as the Australian example illustrates so well.


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News Network
June 6,2020

Mumbai, Jun 6: Reminiscing about his 'special knock' of 208 runs from 153 balls, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma revealed why his wife Ritika had got emotional after he smashed his third double century in ODIs.

Rohit narrated the incident during his appearance in Episode 2 of the 'Open nets with Mayank'.

The batsman, who was accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank on the show, said his wife thought that he had twisted his hand while diving for the 196th run during the innings.

"As you can see my wife got emotional there, this day was special as it was my anniversary. Probably the best gift I could give it to her while I am on the field, it was quite emotional though," said Rohit during the candid chat.

"When I came from the ground, I just asked her why did you (Ritika) cry? So she told me that she thought I (Rohit) twisted my hand when I dived for my 196th run and that was a little worrying factor for her, she got little emotional of because of that I guess," Rohit added.

In the match, the 32-year-old scored 208 runs with 13 fours and 12 sixes against Sri Lanka at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

This enabled India to post a score of 392/4 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then went on to win the match by 141 runs.

"To be honest I was going pretty slow, I never thought I will get to a double hundred but once you cross 125, I feel it gets easier for you because bowlers are under pressure. Unless you make a mistake I don't think you can get out," said Rohit.

Rohit has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka and one against Australia in ODIs. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to make three double hundreds in ODI history.

Rohit, Shikhar, and Mayank would have been in action for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab respectively, had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Agencies
February 7,2020

New Delhi, Feb 7: It was on February 7, 1999, that Anil Kumble became just the second bowler in the history of cricket to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He achieved the feat against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, now known as Arun Jaitley cricket stadium in Delhi during the second Test of the two-match series.

India had set Pakistan a target of 420 runs in the match and the visitors got off to a steady start as openers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar put on 101 runs for the first wicket.

It was then Kumble who came into the attack and wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up.

The spinner, also known as 'Jumbo' first dismissed Afridi (41) in the 25th over. After the right-handed batter's dismissal, India kept on taking wickets through Kumble and Pakistan was reduced to 128/6 in no time.

Kumble then kept on taking wickets at regular intervals and he got his tenth scalp in the 61st over after dismissing Wasim Akram.

This effort enabled India to register a win by 212 runs, and Kumble became the second bowler after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in a single Test inning.

Kumble finished with the bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

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Agencies
June 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 4: Indian men's hockey team defender Harmanpreet Singh is delighted and honoured to be nominated for the Arjuna Award by Hockey India.

The Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award while her compatriots Vandana Katariya, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh have been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

"I was extremely delighted to hear the news. It's an honour to be nominated for the Arjuna Award and I am sure the nomination will motivate me to perform even better in the upcoming years. All of us have received tremendous support from Hockey India over the years and I was extremely happy to know that Rani has been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Vandana Katariya and Monika have been nominated for the Arjuna Award. They have put up some brilliant performances in the recent past and I would like to extend my congratulations to them," Harmanpreet said.

The 24-year-old dragflick sensation stepped up his role in the team and shouldered the responsibility of vice-captain with aplomb. As a defender-dragflicker, he was instrumental in the team's winning performance in the FIH Series Finals in Odisha. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event, he captained the team to victory in the absence of Manpreet Singh who was rested for the tournament.

Harmanpreet was also part of the Indian team that won the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers against Russia last year. Harmanpreet said that he has been able to perform for the team only because of the support he has received from his teammates.

"I am very happy with the way I have been contributing to the team in the last couple of years. However, I have been able to come up with the goods only because of the way my teammates have supported me. Hockey is a team sport and all of us ensure that we are contributing to the team's cause in some way or the other. If we score a goal, then it's not only the goal scorer, who takes the credit, but the entire team is credited for a particular effort," said the defender.

Harmanpreet added that booking a place in the Tokyo Olympic Games was the biggest achievement for the team in 2019.

"It was simply amazing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in front of our home crowd last year. I will cherish the memory forever. The balance of our side was fantastic and everyone chipped in to make the tournament a memorable one. Now, we will give everything we can to come up with great results at the Olympics next year. It's our sole target at the moment and all of us are up for the challenge. Hopefully, we will become a much better side once we play our first match in Tokyo," he said.

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