BANGALORE: It doesn’t get bigger than this! Seventy players, 23 lakhs in three hours, stunning smashes and priceless moments. The Karnataka Badminton League (KBL), now underway in Bangalore, is in many ways a smashing hit, with the decisive phase starting next week. An idea born out of two passionate former players in May this year, has become a carnival of sorts in November, with the best players giving everything to justify their presence, price and prestige.Thomas Kunnath (Chairman) and Vijay Lacy (Organizing Secretary) spoke about the philosophy behind their idea and vision for the future. Excerpts: Q: Take us through your dream and reality now being christened KBL.TK: I was literally dreaming of a format like this for the last five years. This year I strongly felt that time has finally arrived. I was holidaying in Katmandu when I got a call from Lancy asking what happened to my ‘big plans’.VL: It was just a casual call as we both had played the game at competitive levels. I was very impressed with Thomas’ idea and wanted to extend support. Instead, he wanted me to be his partner in crime and the rest is history.Q: How did you convince the KBA and players?TK: We told KBA that we are keen to give something back to the game. All the KBA officials agreed to stand by our mission. We went around and involved the clubs and made presentations to every badminton enthusiast in town.VL: We were convinced that if badminton had to be promoted, first we must take care of the players. KBA liked the concept and we thrashed out all nagging issues at one go. We met players, their parents, coaches, managers and visited corporates, clubs and schools selling our dream.Q: So finally the game is on and will you make the monies this year?TK: Some of the teams have already told us that they are sure of getting back more than what they have invested. VL: We are not looking at our individual bank balances at this time as our focus is on teams and players. We want them to get on to their comfort zones with the right business modules.Q: Is KBL lacking the complete flavour without teams from major cities in Karnataka?TK: I admit, it is. Then this is just the beginning. We had almost teams from Belgaum and Hubli, but things didn’t materalise this time.VL: Next year onwards, we will have more teams from various cities. In fact, we are seriously thinking of taking the tournament to different parts of Karnataka from next year, to promote the game. Team owners will have to play a big role here as logistics issues are involved.Q: So far, so good. Yet, are there some concerns?TK: Everything is going as per our script and our intense planning really helped. Barring we would have loved to have a title sponsor and the talks are still on.VL: We are holding a press meet on November 16 and hopefully we should be able to announce the title sponsor’s name by then.Q: What is in store for promising players from districts?TK: We are working on an annual KBL Scholarship Programme and the details will be out soon. This way we can help some deserving upcoming players who need some financial support.VL: We will also get them proper kits, arrange training and oraganise matches so that they get decent exposure. We are not greedy, we will give it back to the game and the players.Q: Finally, have any thoughts on KBL-2 set in?TK: Yes. It has…VL: But, under wraps!
Comments
0 comment