Champions Tennis League Introduces Team Owners and Players

The Vijay Amritraj backed Champions Tennis League (CTL), today made much awaited announcements by naming their six city franchisees and further drafted the players for each team, at a media event held today at The Leela, Mumbai.

Indian tennis legend and global ambassador of the sport, Vijay Amritraj said, “I am delighted that we are able to bring top international male and female tennis stars to various parts of the country to participate in a city based India only league. Indian Davis Cup players alongside these great players would be extremely exciting to watch and cheer on for each city. The two young players, a boy and a girl, would fill out the roster, and for me this is particularly important as it gives youngsters an opportunity to learn from this amazing experience”.

Anil Khanna, Presidentof the All India Tennis Association said, “We are delighted that Vijay Amritraj has taken the initiative to launch the Champions Tennis League, India’s one and only city based national tennis league with the full support of the AITA. This will bring international tennis to different parts of the country and we are proud that our Davis Cup players and youngsters will have the opportunity to benefit from this monumental opportunity”.

The franchisees - one each for Bangalore, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Pune were introduced individually by Mr. Amritraj, who then called on them to say a few words about their expectations from the League.

Mittu Chandilya, owner of the Bangalore franchise said “"Bangalore is a vibrant, exciting and truly cosmopolitan city that is known for its many gardens, pleasant weather, IT crowd, pub culture and good old Southern hospitality. With a very smart and outgoing audience we are excited to be able to bring professional tennis to this wonderful city and our home in a way the city and all of India have never experienced before. Look forward to a "Roaring" good time at the matches that will be delivered in true Bangalore fashion and hospitality. Be loud, have fun and join us in celebrating this wonderful city and community in its own professional tennis franchise"

Gurpreet Singh Kiki, Co-owner of the Punjab franchise said “We are delighted to own the CTL franchise for Punjab. Tennis has always been a major sport in our state including producing several Davis Cup players for India. We are incredibly excited to join Vijay Amritraj in bringing tennis of the highest calibre to Punjab.

Beaming happily, Ronnie Sehgal, co-owner of the Chennai franchise said, “CTL is a game changer for Indian tennis. I am thrilled to be able to bring this level of international tennis to Chennai and Tamil Nadu and I look forward to working closely with the city and its people in creating a long lasting bond with CTL in Chennai. This is a dream come true for the Indian tennis community.”

Milind Tamhane, on behalf of Rendezvous Sports World, owners of the Pune franchise said “We are thankful to Vijay Amritraj fo his passion for India and tennis as a sport, which has resulted in the Champions Tennis League. This also reflects on India now becoming a super economic power on the global stage.”

Varinder Pal Singh, Owner of the Delhi franchise said “Having watched some of the greatst tennis players in the world play in the UK, I am proud to be a part of Vijay Amritraj’s Champions Tennis League as a co-owner of the Delhi franchise to showcase many of these players in our capital city.”

Following the introductions to the franchise owners, was the unveiling of the players taking part in CTL 2014. Renowned and ranked international players along with talented Indian players were up for the team drafts.

In its launch avatar, CTL 2014will see the six city based teams play 13 matches over a ten day period from November 17th 2014 to November 26th 2014. The teams will be structured into 2 groups, each having 3 teams, where all teams play each other in a home and away format. The team with the highest number of games won in their respective group will play each other in the grand finale to win prize money of Rs. 1 crore. The runner-up will win Rs. 50 lakhs.

CTL teams will feature male and female players with international rankings between No. 5 and No. 25. Each of the 6 teams will also have an international legend as their playing captain, apart from a noted Indian male tennis player, plus a top ranked junior Indian girl and boy from each city. The teams will also travel to other cities bringing tennis excitement and entertainment in a spectacle that has never been seen on this scale in India before, for tennis.

Conceptualised to promote the passion for tennis and inculcate a love for the sport, CTL holds the promise of taking tennis in India to new levels of awareness and popularity.

Already creating waves in its launch year, CTL has partnered with Sony SIX, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel, who has the exclusive broadcasting rights for CTL in the Indian Subcontinent. Speaking on the tie up, Mr. NP Singh, CEO, MSM India said, “We are delighted to have Champions Tennis League on board as it reiterates our constant endeavour towards bringing diverse sports offering to the viewers. We believe this never seen before tennis league, which is a perfect blend of sports and entertainment will not only provide a fantastic viewing experience to our audience but also give Indian talent a chance to perform on a grand sporting stage”.

It promises to be an exciting season of tennis in India this year.

 

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