If the players’ auction for the inaugural Indian Badminton League brought humiliation to India’s women doubles specialists Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, there were many who were “over the moon” after having fetched surprising amounts from their respective franchises.
These young shuttlers — some of them yet to make a mark in the international circuit— even left behind overseas names like former world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and 2013 all-England champion Tine Baun of Denmark, to grab the attention of franchise owners.
Little-known doubles player K. Maneesha, picked up by Lucknow Warriors for $26,000, six times more her base price of $4,000, felt her hard work had finally paid off.
“It was unbelievable that I was picked for such a price. In fact, I was not expecting to be even bought by any of the franchises. I am really glad,” the 18-year-old, who won the Maldives International Challenge mixed doubles with K. Nandagopal in June, said.
“It will be even more challenging for me to perform well as I will playing alongside world-class players like Marcis (Kido) and Weng Fei (Chong). We have a balanced team and have a good chance in the event,” said the 2010 Commonwealth Youth Games champion.
Ashwini’s partner for women’s doubles, Pradnya Gadre, feels “lucky” to have pocketed a whopping $46,000 from Hyderabad Hotshots. She was priced at $10,000.
“I am very happy and never expected such a high bid. I wanted to play for Mumbai or Pune but now that I am picked by Hyderabad I will work hard,” said Pradnya, admitting that “the IBL auction did’nt go well for Ashwini.”
Another youngster, B. Sai Praneeth, who had a string of good performances lately, was excited to be part of the IBL.
“I expected to fetch around $20,000, but it was surprising. It’s a huge motivation for us.”
The 20-year-old, who was rated at $15,000, was picked by Delhi Smashers for $40,000.
Pranav Jerry Chopra, the country’s no. 1 doubles player, was “astounded” to see himself picked for $36,000 by Mumbai Masters. His base price was $15,000. “More than the amount I am happy to be in the team which has Lee Chong Wei. I am over the moon. It’s a huge boost ahead of the word championships,” he added.