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GPBL set for international debut
Prashanth Reddy, GBPL’s league commissioner and CEO of defending champions of PBL, Bengaluru Raptors aims to include 10 international shuttlers in this year’s event in August at Bengaluru.
The Grand Prix Badminton League (GPBL), which was launched in August last year in Karnataka, will now be upscaled to an international event with players from across India and abroad taking part in it. As many as 10 foreign shuttlers have confirmed their participation in the GBPL that seems to have been a glimmer of hope for badminton players of India as it has been three years since the fifth edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) has been held, and the sixth edition has made rounds only in the air, leaving the players in a lurch.
“PBL has been dormant for the last three years, affecting the players tremendously. PBL contributed towards players’ earnings significantly and in most cases was the only source of income for them to fund their badminton aspirations,” said Prashanth Reddy, GBPL’s league commissioner and CEO of defending champions of PBL, Bengaluru Raptors.
“Players from all over the country were constantly enquiring about the league but we have had no communication either from Sportz and Live Entertainment (SLE) or from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) related to it. Repeated calls and emails have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.
He, however, said that first edition of GPBL was a grand success with the cream of Indian badminton like PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Ashwini Ponappa, Sai Praneeth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, HS Prannoy, Chirag Shetty and Jwala Gutta endorsing the league and becoming mentors of each of the eight teams. The league was televised live on an international channel with a total prize purse of ₹60 lakh and the winners walking away with handsome cheque of ₹24 lakh.
“We believe that the league is extremely important to promote badminton and help players pursue a career,” said Prashanth, adding, “several sports have their own leagues now and they are helping players immensely. Not only are players well remunerated, they are also exposed to top coaches, physios and mentorship from accomplished leaders and team owners.”
“This is something that associations with their limited funds are unable to provide. We were already planning for the second edition of GPBL and after consulting with all the players and team owners, we thought of continuing the legacy of PBL using the existing platform of GPBL,” he further said.
For players who raised a concern with regards to their release from BAI for participation in such leagues, Prashanth confirmed that BAI has been notified. “We sought a legal opinion from a prestigious law firm and after extensive research and looking into precedents set by other sports federations in the country, we were advised that no association has the right to stop players from playing a sport.”
“Associations are meant to govern the official version of the sport only. The league is not an official version of the sport and is meant to be entertaining and adapted for television purposes. Scoring formats, rules and even matches are different in the league. It is unconstitutional and infringes on their rights as Indian citizens to earn a livelihood with their skills. Further, players do not have an employment contract with associations, and neither are they compensated by the association.”
“All expenses for their training, travel, equipment, nutrition etc are funded by the players themselves. Several leagues in the country today operate without any interference from associations. Given these circumstances, associations should welcome private bodies that are investing to promote the sport, as well as help the players,” said Prashanth.
