CHENNAI: R Sivakumar, owner of Premier Badminton League’s franchise Chennai Superstarz, wants to start the badminton season in the city with the Tamil Nadu Badminton Super League (TNBSL) from July. Despite cancellation of various events, he believes that his team will have no problems when the PBL starts in January 2021. But he admits that participation of foreign players could be an issue.
“We are in lockdown at the moment and it will take at least two months for normalcy to return. So when things get better in July-August, I am planning to hold season 2 of the TNBSL (Junior Chennai Superstarz tournament),’’ said Sivakumar, owner of the league.
The league is similar to TNPL. Kovai Knockers, Trichy Blasters, Marina Super Kings, Chennai Flying Gravity, Villupuram Falcon Feathers, Karur Smashers and Tirupur Warriors are the eight team. Flying Gravity were the champions last year, with Trichy Blasters being the runners- up.
“TNBSL is a good platform to popularise the sport in the state. It is an ideal platform to unearth young talent. S Sankar Muthusamy, one of the most promising players in the state, has benefitted a lot from it. Having said that, a lot depends upon how the situation pans out over the next two months and government’s advice,’’ said Sivakumar.
Coming back to Superstarz, he is happy with the team’s show last edition. “Happy to own the team in PBL and glad about the team’s performance. This is only the first season since we took over. We lost the second semifinals and finished third. Our aim next year will be to better our performance. The main reason for owning a PBL team is to provide exposure to TN players and help them make a mark at the international level,’’ said Sivakumar.
Coronavirus has disturbed training schedules of players world over. “Tommy Sugiarto, Jessica Pugh, Kirsty Gilmour are some of the foreign players in our team. They are not able to train because of social distancing, but all are safe, which is more important.”
Players across the world are being made to take pay cuts to alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic.
However, Sivakumar says he has no such plans. “We have time, things will definitely improve by next year. As of now, we have no plans to cut the budget for the franchise so players’ pay will be unaffected,’’ insisted Sivakumar.
Speaking on foreign players’ participation in PBL, he said, “We need to be positive. Many are from Europe. We have to see how they are towards the end of this year. A lot will also depend on their respective governments’ guidelines.”