Eighteen corporates enter fray for IBL

Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai franchises have got more expression of interest from among 18 corporates who have so far entered the fray for the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL).

The $1million IBL that will have among the top 50 players in the world including Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan and world No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia will be held from June 24 to July 11 next year in six cities, which will be finalised from the eight shortlisted.

Organisers of the league, Sporty Solutionz, without revealing the names of the 18 bidders, said on Monday that another 12 to 14 bids are expected. They added that Dan and Wei have been approached and are in the process of being signed.
 
“The Badminton Association of India has already written to most of the national associations for their NOCs, including the top 12 leading badminton nations like China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, Germany, Denmark etc,” the organisers said on Monday.

The six cities that will own the teams will be picked from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Lucknow, Chennai and New Delhi. The players’ auction will be held in March 2013.