New Delhi, July 20: Home-grown icons Saina Nehwal and P Kashyap, along with some international stars such as Lee Chong Wei, would be the top draws at the USD one million Indian Badminton League’s players’ auction to be held here on Monday.
Six players have been earmarked icon players with world number one Chong Wei the only international shuttler among them in the list that includes Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, PV Sindhu and Kashyap. Each of these players would attract a base price of USD 50,000.
Other notable shuttlers in the list of top 30 available for the auction include Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana and Hu Yun of Hong Kong who also have a base price of USD 50,000.
Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, Kenichi Tago of Japan and Vietnam’s Tien Minh Nguyen, who will be available at a base price of USD 25,000, are the other current players who are in the top-10 in men’s world rankings.
The list also includes former world and Olympic champion Taufiq Hidayat for a base price of USD 15,000. Hidayat recently retired from the international circuit.
The base price of RMV Gurusaidutt has been kept at USD 25,000 while for Ajay Jayaram’s bidding will start at the price of USD 30,000.
In the women’s category, German star Juliane Schenk and Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon will have a base price of USD 50000. Another Thai player Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (USD 20,000), Denmark’s Tine Baun (USD 30,000), Lindaweni Fanetri (USD 15,000) of Indonesia would be the other attractions in the auction that will be conducted by renowned London-based auctioneer Bob Hayton.
Gutta and Ponnappa will be participating in the doubles category of the event. The franchises will also be bidding for lesser known Indian stars though they would be given the lost of these players during the auction. (PTI)
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