MUMBAI: A tinge of Bollywood has been added to Ultimate Kho Kho with popular singer Badshah joining the league as co-owner of the Mumbai franchise alongside film producer, developer and sports enthusiast, Punit Balan.
The Mumbai-based team completes the line-up for the inaugural edition of Ultimate Kho Kho, which will take off later this year.
“My mother used to play kho-kho during her college days and this ground-rooted game is very close to my heart. This nostalgic and personal connection triggered me to be part of Ultimate Kho Kho,” an official release quotes Badshah as having said about his first sports venture.
“It’s an adrenaline packed, fast-paced indoor sport with extremely agile players doing Sky-Dives in air. In general, the culture of Mumbai is fast and efficient and that’s what we want this team to be. My vision would be to nurture the best players out of this league, and we want to ensure the best environment, infrastructure, training and nutrition for the players,” he further added.
Mumbai franchise co-owner Balan is one of the few new-age sports investors. Besides heading the Balan Group — a company valued at Rs 3,500 crore, he also owns teams in various sporting leagues like badminton, tennis, table tennis and handball, apart from his investment in a sports employment start-up and actively supporting various sportspersons.
“It’s very important to adopt the right approach if you want to grow something. I have been involved in developing sports through leagues in the past and now alongside Ultimate Kho Kho, I want to play a part in kho-kho’s journey to success,” said Balan.
The traditional sport originated in Maharashtra and the state has been a dominant force on the Indian kho-kho circuit. As many as three teams from Maharashtra competed in the national championships and in the recently concluded Khelo India Youth Games also, they emerged champions in both boys and girls categories.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Badshah and Punit as co-owners of the sixth franchise. We already have on-boarded big corporates as well as the government of Odisha and now these two popular names from the entertainment sector reflect the positioning and calibre of the league. Kho-kho has deep roots in Maharashtra and a team representing the state’s capital will surely help us bolster the popularity of the game,” said Ultimate Kho Kho CEO, Tenzing Niyogi.
The league had earlier added eminent corporate names to its roster including the Government of Odisha in collaboration with ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, Adani Group, GMR Group, Capri Global and KLO Sports.
The league will be broadcast across Sony Network India’s (SPNI) sports channels SonyTEN 1 (SD & HD), SonyTEN 3 (SD & HD), SonyTEN 4 and on SonyLIV in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu as other regional languages.
