After much speculation, India will soon have their own badminton league, an official from the Maharashtra Badminton League (MBL) confirmed to DNA.
“Following the success of the MBL last year, we plan on beginning the Indian Badminton League soon. We have sorted out the formalities and will now look at proper date to begin the tournament,” Uday Sane, an executive member of the Maharashtra Badminton Association said.
Earlier, the tournament was scheduled to begin by August end. There were plans to invite foreign players. However, that plan has been scrapped and we plan to reschedule the tournament in October beginning.
On the reasons for delay, Sane said: “The tournament was clashing with the Olympics. We want our best players to be part of this tournament and we want some good foreign players for the event as well. Since the Badminton Association of India (BAI) is teaming up with us, it is a blessing.”
Sane has already tasted success with the popularity of the MBL last year. The tournament is all set to commence at the end of this month. “Last year, we had a cash prize of Rs5 lakh. This year, it has gone up to Rs 6.44 lakh. Out of this, the team winning the final will get Rs5 lakh, while Rs1.44 lakh will be distributed amongst the players. This prize money is addition to the amount the players get for the tournament,” informed Sane.
This year, the MBL has seven teams, as compared to six last year. Each team has a budget of Rs3 lakh for three members in each team. “The good thing is that we get to play with some really good and talented players in the circuit. Some of the players are international-level players,” said 20-year-old Eshan Naqvi, who plays for the Daring Doves.
“It will be good if we have a national-level tournament where we play with foreign players. It will be really good for the game,” he added.
With teams ready to fund in lakhs for the MBL, it will be good to see how much will be funded for a national-level tournament.
