The first edition of the Indian Premiere League Table Tennis championship will be sponsored by Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). According to the West Bengal Table Tennis Association (WBTTA) president Probir Mitra, the meet with an estimated budget of Rs 20 lakh will be co-sponsored by Coca-Cola, Kolkata Port Trust and Shipping Corporation of India .
“Talks are on with some private firms to come up with financial assistance. We are optimistic,” Mitra said.
The IPL this year can, literally, be termed as the Regional Premiere League as the tournament will see only Bengal-based national ranking players participating.
Earlier, Mitra said the budget will be over Rs 50 lakh and participating players will get a maximum of Rs 4 lakh. But the scenario has changed. It is decided that each player will get Rs 2,500 per match.
“We have nothing to do. We tried at best to keep that word, but failed to collect the amount,” Mitra said.
Earlier, WBTTA had also requested Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the franchisee of Kolkata Knight Riders, to come up with sponsor-ship.
The month-long meet will get underway on July 19 in six places of the state, including Kolkata. The teams participating are Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting, Sports Authority of India, Meerut-based sports goods manufacturing company, Stag, and South City .