Abu Dhabi: The franchise-owned leagues have really caught up in India and it seems there is still appetite for more as the Ultimate Table Tennis league gets underway in Delhi on Thursday.
After the success of the Indian Super League (ISL) football spearheaded by Reliance Industries’ Nita Ambani, yet another member of the family, Vita Dani has jumped onto the bandwagon.
Dani, who owns a controlling stake in the football franchise Chennaiyin FC and is the niece of Indian business baron late Dhirubhai Ambani, has seen the meteorical rise of the ISL and other franchise leagues from close quarters.
And she is clearly bullish on another sport which has not made much headway in cricket-crazy India.
With the success story of the Indian Premier League cricket, the ISL, Pro-Kabbadi League, hockey and badminton leagues, owning a sports franchise is clearly the newest status symbol for India’s rich.
Hence, there is no dearth of bigwigs who are keen to cash in on the slightest window of opportunity when it comes to sports business. The Rajesh Wadhawan Group, Sameer Koticha of ASK Group along with the reputed Vivek Kohli & Kapil Garg and Vivek Bhargava have added to that list now.
With 24 foreign and 24 Indian players (both men and women) including men’s World No.7 Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong and top women’s player Han Ying of Germany being drafted into six different franchises, there was not much of a problem for Dani’s 11Even Sports Private Limited (ESPL) to get television broadcaster Star Sports on board.
“You know everybody anywhere in the world has played table tennis at some point of their life. India has room for various sports to grow and we at 11Even Sports want to give table tennis that opportunity,” said Dani in an exclusive email interview with Gulf News.
“Table tennis is a hugely popular sport with plenty of potential in India. We at 11Even Sports Private Limited are committed to make it a mainstream sport and the start of Ultimate Table Tennis League will be a big step in that quest,” added Dani, who said she was delighted with the response from the corporates in the first season.
“Six well-known corporates are ready to fight it out and have already shown a great competitive edge during the coach and player drafts,” said Dani, who accepted that her venture as owner of Chennaiyin FC helped her iron off few creases easily but this was still a new baby for her.
“These are two completely different sports but there are always lessons in one, which can be useful in the other. When you are organising a league, in contrast to just owning a franchise, you realise the other side of the equation also. Both the journeys so far have been equally exciting,” said Dani, who was optimistic of the franchises breaking even quickly.
“The objective with which our league business model has been designed is to ensure that the franchises break even at the earliest. To give a further insight, unlike many other sports franchise leagues, the franchise fee covers all operational costs of the franchises during the season,” revealed Dani.
Most of the franchise owners also shared the same sentiments as Dani and were confident of the league being an instant hit.
Saumya Khaitan, CEO of DolT Sports which owns Dabang Smashers, said the success of their other teams in other leagues made them believe there is more scope in TT.
“Our league success further only led us to believe in the sport of TT. We went ahead on the basis of the vision of the promoters of the league. Also the federation, the pedigree of the league owners, the management along with the backing of other established business house as other franchise owners and our broadcaster Star Sports,” said Khaitan.
“The sports revolution in India has just started and there is enough space, viewership and appetite for multiple leagues to get established and create the niche in the years to come,” felt Khaitan, who expects to break even and start making revenue within next three to four years.
Bhargava, Owner of Shazé Challengers, is the only one with table tennis background and is there following his passion.
“Table tennis is extremely close to my heart. My mother introduced the sport to me at a young age and I haven’t stopped playing it ever since. I have been a state level player and have been fortunate to be a medallist in the game in the 40-plus nationals,” said Bhargava.
