MUMBAI: Premier Handball League has confirmed the owners and names of two more PHL franchises – Delhi Panzers and Telugu Talons.
The announcement comes close on the heels of Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh and Garvit Gujarat being named as PHL teams.
The team from Hyderabad is owned by Abhishek Reddy Kankanala, a sports entrepreneur known for his involvement in various sports, including volleyball (Hyderabad Black Hawks), badminton, golf, among other sports teams. The team will represent the Telugu speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking about his association with PHL, Kankanala said, “Handball is an exciting and engaging sport, and I believe it has immense potential to grow in popularity, especially in India. I am committed to developing the Telugu Talons to compete at the highest level within the Premier Handball League and to bring a new sense of pride and accomplishment to the handball community, both nationally and internationally.”
Delhi Panzers, meanwhile, is principally owned by Vineet Bhandari, founder and managing director of Bhandari Sports Private Limited. Vineet is a sports entrepreneur with a keen interest in handball, volleyball, and basketball. His team, the Kolkata Thunderbolts, won the inaugural season of the Prime Volleyball League. The team is co-owned by Rajat Agarwal – a second-generation businessman – and Sailesh Arya, MD of Imperial Infrastructure & Dredging Pvt. Ltd and CEO of Heritage Group of Companies. The venture marks Rajat and Sailesh’s entry into the world of sports investing.
Bhandari opined: “Handball is a fun and interesting sport, and I think it has a huge future for growth, especially in India.”
Rajat and Sailesh added, “We are dedicated to building the Delhi Panzers to compete at the pinnacle of the Premier Handball League and to instil a new feeling of pride and accomplishment into the handball community, both regionally and nationally.
“I welcome both team owners to the Premier Handball League family. Both the team owners are heavily experienced when it comes to leading successful sporting ventures and have heavily invested in the Indian sporting system all along. Handball is one of the most exciting Olympic sports there is a huge potential, and we have seen that there is no dearth of talent. Now, it is our responsibility to build a strong foundation for the sport in the country and, at the same time, ensure that the league receives eyeballs via all possible mediums. I am sure that the league will capture the imagination of Indian sports fans,” said Manu Agrawal, founder and CEO of Bluesport Entertainment Private Limited, PHL’s commercial rights holder.
Player auctions for the PHL were held on Sunday in Mumbai.
PHL is sanctioned by the South Asian Handball Federation and affiliated with the Asian Handball Federation (AHF). The inaugural season of PHL is set to kick off on June 8 and run until June 25, and will be broadcast on the Viacom18 network on JioCinema, Sports 18-1 (HD & SD) and Sports 18 Khel.
