It’s well known that Indian cricketing star Sachin Tendulkar grew up idolising tennis legend John McEnroe.
On Thursday, he established his connection with a different racquet sport when he announced his new venture, the Premier Badminton League outfit Bengaluru Blasters.
On the lines of his Indian Super League side, Kerala Blasters, this, too, will be co-owned by the same consortium.
“I grew up playing racquet sports and badminton is something which I have always loved,” said Sachin. “So I am very honoured to be here.”
“If you had asked me a few years ago if I would be standing here in Bengaluru doing this, I would have said no. But now I have found the time to support other sports. We are here to not only win matches, but people’s hearts too,” he added.
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand recollected the interactions Sachin had with his wards at the Rio Olympics.
“When he was in Rio, he interacted with each player asking them about their routines,” he said. “So we had a great connect and we are very happy that he is here. For Sachin to be supporting other sports and to have him as an ambassador for badminton in general is a great thing.”
The promoters seem to have left no stone unturned to appeal to the local populace.
In addition to having the city’s very own player Ashwini Ponnappa, the team’s logo also resembles Gandaberunda, the official emblem of Karnataka.
“We wanted everything to have a strong association with Bengaluru as a city,” explained the franchise’s CEO Ramya Vankina.
“Karnataka colours are red and yellow. We chose it and it also worked for us because Kerala Blasters is also yellow. We want to engage the Bengaluru crowd and we have a very extensive digital campaign lined up.”
Matches in Bengaluru are likely to be played towards the end of the first week of January with the exact dates and the venue – either the Koramangala or Kanteerava indoor stadium – to be announced shortly.
