MUMBAI: The second edition of the Indian Badminton League is all set to be held from 2 - 17 January, 2016.
In making the announcement, Badminton Association of India president Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta said, “It’s a proud moment for me today as I announce the second edition of the Indian Badminton League and which I can assure you, will be bigger and larger than the first edition. It will an exhilarating 16 days of non-stop badminton as world’s top notch players will fight it out in front of you for the title of IBL 2. Plus, what motivates me is the huge backing that we are receiving from various corporations, sponsors and broadcasters to get associated with the League. I am sure together we will give you another exciting edition of Indian Badminton League. The IBL is here to stay and we will ensure its continuity.”
The press conference to announce the same was attended by Saina Nehwal, K Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and PV Sindhu.
The action will kick-start with the opening ceremony and will conclude with the grand finale. While Indian badminton players are engraving their names across the world, the Indian Badminton League will bring together India’s top badminton players along with international players on the same platform wherein they will showcase high-class action.
The conference even witnessed the introduction of Shuttle India - the six city school program to identify young talent at grass root level. The program will be played across various schools and each city will witness matches being played among the young students in both the boys and girls category.
Speaking on the Shuttle India initiative, Dr. Gupta added, “The idea of creating a Badminton League was not only to get international players on the same platform but even create a platform for the young guns at the grassroots level to take the sport as a career and Shuttle India is an initiative towards that goal. With schools participating from across six cities, we are expecting huge participation amongst the students who are already getting formal training of the same at a local level.”
The Indian Badminton League has already announced two franchisees wherein the Delhi franchisee has been taken by Infinite Computer Solutions and Lucknow will be backed by the Sahara Parivar. The rest of the franchisees are in advance talks and the announcement for the same to be made soon.
