Videocon bags franchise for World Series of Boxing

New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) Videocon Industries Ltd. has bought the franchise rights for India in the high-profile World Series of Boxing (WSB), starting in September.

The electronic major has decided that Delhi will be India’s host city. It will also be among the 12 teams from Asia, Europe and America in the WSB, the ambitious professional series of International Boxing Association (AIBA) on the lines of cricket’s Indian Premier League. The 12 teams will fight it out on home and away basis.

AIBA President and WSB Chairman Ching-Kuo Wu said the franchise will popularise Indian boxing and cash in on the sudden surge of interest in the sport.

“There is a tremendous potential for boxing in India and a huge support base for nurturing talent. It is our pleasure to welcome India as one of the 12 franchisees for the WSB.

“We welcome Videocon for their participation and are confident that WSB will bring about a paradigm shift and signal a new era in world boxing,” Wu said in a statement.

Pradeep Dhoot, president of Videocon, said that WSB will help Indian boxing attain global standards.

“We are excited and enthusiastic about our association with WSB. Through this partnership we would want to take Indian boxing to world standards,” he said.

“Our commitment to boxing is long term and we will invest in promoting the sport by developing facilities like boxing rings across India at grass-root level,” he added.

According to WSB rules, each franchise would cough up $5 million for 10 years.

Like IPL, the franchisee owners will generate revenue by selling sponsorship rights, merchandise and tickets besides getting a share of WSB central revenue from the media rights.

WSB will be the stepping stone for amateur boxers to become professionals without losing the eligibility to play in Olympics or World Championships.

It is also an attempt to cut the mushrooming promoter-based professional boxing leagues.

Each franchisee will have a team of at least 10 boxers, including three overseas participants.

Indian Boxing Federation secretary general P.K. Muralidharan Raja said the federation will work closely with the franchisee to get the best boxers in the team.

“It is a great news for Indian boxing. It will not only help to market the sport, but also improve its standard in the country. After the success of our boxers in the Olympics and other international events, this is the right step towards becoming a major power,” Raja said.

“We have to take a minimum of three foreign boxers in the team. All the teams will be eyeing the world’s best from Cuba and Russia. There will be bidding process for the foreign boxers during the World Championships in Milan (September) and we will have to formulate a strategy to see that we get the right players,” Raja told IANS.

WSB will crown both individual boxers and city-based teams as world champions.

Boxers will be seen in action without head guards and vests and compete in five bouts of three minutes each in the 10-point scoring system, much like professional boxing.

WSB will be held in five weight categories – bantam, light, middle, light heavy and heavy.

Johannesburg, May 25 (IANS) Roll of Honour of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Winners: Deccan Chargers (Rs.48 million)

Runners-up: Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs.24 million)

Fair Play Award: Kings XI Punjab

Man of the Match (finals): Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers)

DLF Golden Player of the League: Adam Gilchirst (Deccan Chargers)

Orange Cap winner (highest scorer): Matthew Hayden (Chennai Super Kings)

Purple Cap winner (highest wicket-taker): Rudra Pratap Singh (Deccan Chargers)

Under-23 Player of the league: Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers)

Johannesburg, May 25 (IANS) South African President Jacob Zuma Sunday thanked the Indian Premier League (IPL) for reviving the country’s economy ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The Twenty20 tournament, which concluded Sunday, was shifted to South Africa after it overlapped with the general elections in India.

“The month-long IPL has revived the country’s economy. It has boosted the South African economy by 1 billion rand with the number of hotel rooms booked and the number of flights that were added. It has given a fillip to South African tourism.

“The IPL was a great advertisement for next month’s Confederations Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” Zuma said in his speech at the IPL’s closing ceremony.

“We will be happy to organise it again if the need arises in the future.”

Zuma, the leader of the African National Congress, said the IPL has become quite popular in the rainbow country during the 37-day tournament.

“The tournament has become a household name in a very short time. People are aware of all eight teams that participated. It is a favourite here now. It brought cities to a halt during the matches,” Zuma said.

“It was a very difficult job for us to prepare everything at such short notice, including eight stadiums. I thank the organisers for a wonderful job. I also appreciate the presence of the Bollywood stars like Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty.”

IPL Closing Ceremony | IPL 2009 Closing Ceremony | Glitz, glamour planned for IPL closing ceremony

PRETORIA: After five weeks of exhilarating cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will draw to a close in an electrifying closing ceremony at Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg Sunday.

“The closing ceremony is going to be spectacular,” IPL media director Trevor Jones told BuaNews Friday.

In a dramatic turnaround of fortunes in the IPL, last year’s bottom-placed teams Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers will vie for the title in the grand finale of the second edition of the tournament.

“The IPL has been an amazing spectacle that has surprised many in South Africa and the world. To host this tournament at short notice; the results were just amazing,” he added.

The IPL cricket tournament was shifted from India to South Africa over security concerns of the players as the government had to concentrate on the parliamentary elections.

According to a detailed programme released Friday, the line-up for the closing ceremony includes performances by world renowned music legend Eddy Grant and the American super-star Akon.

Eddy Grant will perform the popular “Walking on Sunshine” and his anti-apartheid hit song “Gimme Hope Jo’anna”.

Akon, who recently met President Jacob Zuma, will perform his Grammy award songs accompanied by Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress and co-owner of the IPL team the Rajasthan Royals.

Adding Bollywood glamour will be actress Katrina Kaif, who together with a troupe of Indian and South African dancers will perform the well-known “Jai Ho”, which was the theme song for the Oscar award wining movie “Slumdog Millionaire”.

President Zuma is expected to attend the IPL final match and would also address the stadium just before the game starts.

Other highlights on the night would include a programme featuring renowned percussionist Shivamani and a group of Indian and South African drummers.

Apart from the various musical programmes, the crowd would also be introduced to the Miss Bollywood IPL South Africa finalists, culminating with the crowning of the winner of the beauty competition.

About 1,500 flying lanterns will be lit and released, and a thrilling pyrotechnics show, using several thousand rounds of fireworks, will light up the Johannesburg skyline.

The glittering spectacle will end with a presentation ceremony for the winning cricket team.

Rohit Sharma | Rohit Sharma named best under-23 player of IPL

Deccan Chargers’ batsman Rohit Sharma has been named as the best Under-23 player of the second Indian Premier League which concludes here tomorrow.

Rohit was selected unanimously for the award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, by former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and MAK Pataudi, the adjudicators of the award.

The 22-year-old right-hander from Mumbai won the award by virtue of the 333 runs he scored in the league stages of the Twenty20 tournament at an average of 27.75 and a strike rate of 119. Apart from his brilliance with the bat, Rohit also shone with the ball, having taken 11 wickets at an average of 11.45, including a hat-trick.

“It is a great honour to be named the Under-23 Success of the League. I’ve been pleased with my form in South Africa, it has been a fantastic competition and I have really enjoyed it,” an elated Rohit said.

“To be recognised for my achievements by three of the living legends of Indian cricket is a great thrill for me,” he added.

Impressed with Rohit’s performance, IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said, “Rohit’s performances have helped light up the IPL. He is without doubt one of the best young cricketers in the world, and has a very exciting future with both Deccan Chargers and India. I congratulate him on becoming the Under-23 Success of the League.”