Drawing inspiration from the highly successful Indian Premier League as well as buoyed by the response to the Maharashtra and Karnataka leagues, former India playerAditya Elango decided to start the Tamil Nadu Badminton League with the help of Tamil Nadu Badminton Association.
Only in its second year, the TNBL has grown in popularity and promises to unearth more talent for the state and the country.
“Actually, even before the Maharashtra league began I had the idea of TNBL on the lines of IPL. But at that time no one thought it would be a possibility. With the Maharashtra and Karnataka leagues in place, my task became easier as people in Chennai began to believe in the concept,” organiser Sun Sportz’ Aditya said.
“Since there are not many international tournaments in the city, the youngsters from Tamil Nadu will get good exposure by playing against the best in the country and quality foreign players,” Aditya added.
Six teams - Chennai Singams, Covai Panthers, Dazzle Force, Erode Eagles, Jhaver Smashers, and Ed6 Skillangels - are in the league.
They will play each other on a league basis with involving singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches.
The top four will qualify for the semifinals.
“Last year the response was good as we had the final at the Express Avenue Mall. This year we have Chetan Anand plus 15 foreigners including South Africa’s No 1 Wiaan Viljoen and Ekiring Edwin of Uganda, both of whom are Olympians. Plus scores of talented players from Malaysia, Africa and America are also playing,” Aditya mentioned.
At the moment, all the six owners are badminton enthusiasts, mostly businessmen. They have assembled the squad for their sheer love of the game.
A team can cost up to Rs 7 lakh for the owner. The cost of ownership fee is Rs 2 lakh. Players are also bought in an auction and cost of one team can vary from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh.
A top-ranked player can be purchased from Rs 1,20,000 to Rs 1,40,000, while a promising foreigner can be bought for only Rs 70,000.
“Many foreign players use this tournament for match practice. They find the quality good, and from Chennai they directly go into a tournament on the tour,” Aditya revealed.
“I’m very much impressed with the quality and the standard of players taking part in this league. It’s very well organised. I am not sure whether I will return next year as it depends on my schedule. I have loved playing here and enjoy the city’s culture,” said Belgium’s top shuttler Yuhan Tan.
Team owners depend on selling sponsorship slots in the stadium (a maximum of `5 lakh), logo money (team jerseys) and prize money to recover investment cost.
“It provides good opportunities for youngsters to play against some quality players from across the world,” Chetan Anand said.
“My only demand is that the organisers must change rules and see to that every top player in one team plays the top player of another in the league stage,” he added.
In reply to the complaint, Aditya said the organisers are working at bringing in more players and are looking to sort out this ‘problem’ in the next edition.
“It is not always possible for every top-ranked player of each team to play another, for many a top-ranked player plays in two three matches (doubles, mixed doubles) for his side. Our tournament is slowly growing in stature. We will slowly try to increase the pool of players in a side and from next season it will not be an issue,” Aditya explained.