Saturday 11 / May / 2024
Dubai, UAE: The second season of the WEEXPOINDIA Junior Badminton League Season 2 marked a riveting players’ auction in Dubai, highlighting the global expansion of the event and the growing popularity of the tournament.
At a special event organised in Dubai, the auction was held in the presence of Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Member of Parliament, India; Vice President - Badminton Association of India and President – Tamil Nadu Badminton Association; HE Laila Rahhall, Goodwill Ambassador, Director of International Relations and Diplomacy at AACID; VE Arunachalam, Member – Executive Committee of the Badminton Association of India and Honorary General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Badminton Association; and other dignitaries.
Addressing the media ahead of auction, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss said the Indian Junior Badminton League is a milestone success that will further promote youth badminton talent in India. “In a short span of time, the Indian Junior Badminton League has gained tremendous popularity as a springboard for young talent to showcase their proficiency and evolve as international champions. It will encourage more young people from across the country to pursue this sport and bring new honours to our country.”
HE Laila Rahhall added: “Hosting the auction of the Indian Junior Badminton League in Dubai further builds on the strong ties shared by the two countries, and underlines the hub status of the city in attracting and promoting global sporting talent. We are confident that the Indian Junior Badminton League will gain further exposure through the event, thereby encouraging more young people to participate in this event.”
VE Arunachallam said: “We are thankful to the leadership and government of Dubai for facilitating the auction of Indian Junior Badminton League Season 2. This shows the keen interest to promote sports, especially among youth. We look forward to building on this momentum and making the upcoming second season a spectacular success, and invite all badminton lovers to be part of this momentous event.”
Mr.Vinoth Kumar,Founder &CEO Eduvision India Groups & EVI Sports Pvt Ltd, said that the auction in Dubai is a demonstration of the growing stature of the championship. “JBL showcases the best young badminton talent in the country and it is our responsibility to provide them the right platforms to hone their skills. JBL is ideally positioned to do so, and will contribute to exceptional badminton players from across the country.”
Renowned musician and actor G V Prakash Kumar, the Brand Ambassador of JBL, in his message congratulated JBL for the successful auction, adding it is a new milestone that will further encourage more youth talent to take part and for people globally to understand the significance of the championship.
N.Arun,Joint Secretery Tamilnadu Badminton Association;Dr.T Maran,Indian Badminton Coach & Technical Co-ordinator,JBL;Senthil Kumaran, COO Junior Badminton League; Ravikumar BM, Founder-Prime Sports Services, Dubai, and Co-Brand Ambassador Yashika Aannand, also addressed the media and highlighted the value that the championship delivers in shaping a new generation of badminton talent.
Eight franchises for Season 2
The auction for JBL Season 2 was guided by experts and the Tamil Nadu Badminton Council for eight franchise teams. All the teams were represented at the auction, bidding for top young badminton talent from the country. In all, 186 registered players were up for the auction including 16 Elite Players, 49 National Players and 121 Tamil Nadu Players.
The eight franchise teams are: Chennai City Gangsters (owned by Sri Ramakrishna; head coach – Parvesh Kumar; coach – Prakash); Kovai Super Kings (owned by Akbar Veshkkar and Ayesha Akbar; head coach – Mahendiran; coach – Mohammed Ameer); Thiruvarur Delta Kings (owned by Karthikeyan; head coach – Rajinikanth; coach – Karthick); Virudhai Vengais (owned by Karumurugan; head coach – Makizhnan Jerry Martin; coach – Prabhukumar); Rainbow Rockers (owned by Surendran and Karthikeyan; head coach – Ajit Wijetilekk; coach – Aditiya Elango); Thiruvallur Veeras (owned by Ravikumar; head coach – Janardhanan; coach – Sunil Krishnamoorthy); Thanjai Thalaivaas (owned by Prabhaharan; head coach – Saravanan; coach – Subramanian); and Madurai Indians (owned by Karan Khanna; mentor – Mohankumar; coach – Joy Tharayil Antony).
JBL Season 2 will feature five categories: Under 17 Girls Singles, Under 17 Boys Singles, Under 19 Girls Singles, Under 19 Boys Singles and Under 19 Mixed Doubles. The matches will be held at Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, from Jan 26 to 29, 2023.
For the auction, each franchise selected the mandatory 11 players, with the team to comprise a minimum of four boys and three girls to play in all the categories. The team should also have three national players and eight players from Tamil Nadu. Each team is allotted a budget of INR6.7 lakhs which was used for purchasing the players. All national players had a base price of INR50,000 and Tamil Nadu players, except Elite Players, had a base price of INR25,000. The highest bid for an Elite Player was INR1 lakh.
The live auction was held starting with the Elite Players followed by National Players who are not part of the Elite list and finally, the third list of Tamil Nadu Players.
The Indian Junior Badminton League is the first of its kind platform for badminton players at the national level and its vision is to love and live the dreams of every sports athlete and to be a catalyst in creating opportunities and setting the platform to showcase young talents to the world. The mission of the League is to nurture junior players to have a holistic understanding of the game, to raise the bar every time, and to play as per international court standards.
