Pune: 198 Players Set to Compete in 10th Edition of ‘PYC–TRUSPACE’ Badminton League 2024

Pune, 25th September 2024: Sarang Athvale (Falcons, 3250 pts), Aarushi Pande (Kara’s Cardinals, 3250 pts), Anish Rane (Phoenix on the Rise, 3250 pts), and Tejas Kinjawadekar (Imperial Swans, 3050 pts) emerged as the most expensive players among 198 participants in various age groups who will represent ten teams in the 10th edition of the ‘PYC–TRUSPACE’ Badminton League. The tournament, organized by PYC Hindu Gymkhana, will be held at the club’s badminton courts from September 26 to October 2, 2024.

Kumar Tamhane, President of PYC Hindu Gymkhana, Deepak Gadgil, Hon. Secretary of PYC Hindu Gymkhana, and Ashwin Trimal of TRUSPACE shared that the event attracted 198 players across various categories, including Nominated Players, Women, Wisemen, and Open categories. This marks the tenth consecutive year that TRUSPACE, under the sponsorship of Mr. Ashwin Trimal, will be the exclusive sponsor for the tournament.

“We are thrilled to support this event and are happy to provide a platform for players to showcase their skills,” added Trimal, a keen sportsperson himself.

Each player is allowed to participate in only one match per tie, with each tie consisting of the best of seven matches. All matches will follow a best-of-three format, with a decider game played in case of a tie after the first two games.

The tournament will follow a league-cum-knockout format, where the top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will compete in the final match, with the victorious team receiving a trophy, informed Mr. Tanmay Agashe, Badminton Secretary of PYC Hindu Gymkhana. Mr. Nandan Dongre will serve as the Tournament Director for PBL.

This year’s highlights include maximum member participation and a format that ensures everyone gets a chance to play. “We have focused on increasing women’s and children’s participation this year. Additionally, every team will receive three bonus points for achieving 100% participation,” said Mr. Tamhane.

The ten teams will be divided into two pools, A and B, with five teams in each pool. All teams will face each other during the league stage. Each tie will consist of five Open Doubles matches, one Women’s Doubles match, and one Wisemen’s Doubles match.

The participants, all of whom are club members, were selected for the ten teams through an auction process. The teams, owned by PYC members, are as follows: Black Hawks, Badamikar Buzzards, Eagles, Optima Falcons, Imperial Swans, Kaps Ravens, Kara’s Cardinals, Phoenix – The Rise, Ravetkar Comets, and Seinumero-Jalan Goshawks.

In addition, a special competition will be held for kids aged below 14. A total of 54 kids will be drafted into four teams – Finch, Gulls, Jays, and Robins – who will compete in the PYC TRUSPACE Kids Badminton League.

A dedicated Tournament Committee has been formed to ensure the smooth conduct of the event. The committee members include Tanmay Agashe, Sarang Lagu, Abhishek Tamhane, Nandan Dongre, Vivek Saraf, Ranjit Pande, Kedar Nadgonde, Sameer Jalan, and Deepti Sardesai, Mr. Tamhane added.