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June 29, 2013, New Delhi: The Indian Badminton League is set to host its first and much anticipated Players Auction on July 19 in New Delhi featuring top international players from 17 nations including Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, China and Malaysia.
Contrary to speculation in a section of the media published here today, the IBL has already received confirmation from top shuttlers from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and China in addition to 12 other leading badminton nations across continents.
The IBL Auction will feature almost all the world top-50 players in both men?s and women?s categories and the current pool of 150 players for the auction is likely to increase as the last date for entry is July 5. The complete list of the players for the IBL Auction will be announced a week before the auction after the list is first shared with the franchisee as per the IBL?s agreement with its Franchisee partners.
Ashish Chadha, CEO Sporty Solutionz, the ?Commercial Partner? to the IBL said on Saturday, ?We would like to keep the facts straight. A lot of effort has gone in to build the IBL and we are confident of putting up a great show as promised. For the record, seven men players in the top-10 world ranking and six players in the women?s top-10 rankings have confirmed with a total of 112 foreign players having signed up for IBL till now.?
The IBL Players Auction is set to dazzle the bidders with a star-lineup from these countries. World No.7 and the winner of the recent Singapore Open, Indonesian?s Tommy Sugiarto leads the Indonesian parade, along with Sony Kuncoro and Lindaweni Fanetri, who are respectively the men?s world No. 10 and women?s world No.11. Hong Kong?s Hu Hyun, the men?s world No.6, Japan?s Kenichi Tago, the men?s world No.5 and women?s world No.10 Minatsu Mitani, and South Korea?s bronze medalist in the 2012 London Olympics, Lee Yong-Dae are the other top names who will figure in the bidding process.
As expected, men?s world No.1 from Malaysia, ?Datuk? Lee Chong Wei is set to go under the hammer at the IBL Players Auction. The other top-10 men player who have confirmed are ? world No.4 Boonsak Ponsana from Thailand and Vietnam?s Tien Minh Nguyen.
Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta, Badminton Association of India President and MP said, ?We have got a very positive response from both the sport bodies as well as the players from all the nations that we have approached. As was anticipated when we announced the League, it will witness world champions fighting it out for the title.?
The $1-million Indian Badminton League is set to launch on August 14, 2013, with some high-voltage action expected between Hyderabad Hotshots and Karnataka Kings. The 2013 IBL will feature six franchises and will run for 18 days. Each franchise will host a two-day leg and the League will showcase a grand total of 90 matches, providing broadcasters and in-stadia spectators with more than 100 hours of LIVE ?family entertainment? which will also be viewed by a significant international audience. The matches will be held during late afternoon and evening to coincide with prime time television and providing a convenient time for the stadium audience. The LIVE IN-stadia entertainment, combined with high-octane on-court action is expected to further hook viewers onto this new adrenalin packed LIVE family entertainment format attracting a much younger fan base, which also includes women and children.
The top four franchisee in the League will clash in the semifinals and the winners will meet in the grand final on August 31, which will be played out in Mumbai, for the richest prize money tournament in badminton till now.
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