Press Release

Kolkata To Host The First Edition Of Premier League

- India’s First Franchise Based Darts Tournament Introduced By National Darts Academy -

Kolkata, 10th May, 2016: National Darts Academy in association with All India Darts Association today announced the launch of the inaugural edition of Darts Premier League, India’s first franchise based darts tournament. Mr Prasanta Saha, Chairman, DPL & Secretary General, All India Darts Association, Mr. Anuj Sharma, IPS, President, Mr. Debashish Kumar, Vice-President, and Mr. Dileep Singh Mehta, Vice President, respectively of WBDA, the team owners of Darts Premier League along with the brand ambassadors of the teams, Ms Rituparna Sengupta, Ms Parijat Chakraborty, Ms Ananya Chatterjee, Ms Gargi Roychowdhury, Ms Ushasie Chakraborty, Ms Arunima Ghosh, Ms Rachel White, Ms Sampurna Lahiri & Ms Sohini Sarkar were present for the occasion.

Darts Premier League will be played amongst 9 teams in a round robin format. Each team will have nine players out of which one will be the marquee player. The players of each team will be selected through auction. The price cap of each franchise will be Rs 1,00,000/- for the inaugural year.

The nine teams of Darts Premier League are Shining Stars owned by Mr Dilip Singh Mehta, Multicon Group, Aauris Strikers owned by Mr Tajender Singh Saini, Aauris, Apollo Arrows owned by Dr. Rupali Basu, Apollo Hospitals, Tungsten Creed owned by Mr Raghav Mundra, Simplex, Sharp Shooters owned by Mr Firdausul Hasan, Warriors owned by Ms Sarbani Malik, Eklavya owned by Mr Amit Tibrewal, Amit International, Arrow Heads owned by Mr A.D. Bhatia, Team Akash & Magma Yoddha owned by Mr Kaushik Sinha, Magma Fincorp.

The celebrity Brand Ambassadors of each team are Ms Rituparna Sengupta for Shinning Stars, Ms Parijat Chakraborty for Aauris Strikers, Ms Ananya Chatterjee for Apollo Arrows, Ms Arunima Ghosh for Tungsten Creed, Ms Gargi Roychowdhury for Sharp Shooters, Ms Ushasie Chakraborty for Warriors, Ms Rachel White for Eklavya, Ms Sampurna Lahiri for Arrow Heads & Ms Sohini Sarkar for Magma Yoddha.

“Darts is basically a game of target blended with intelligence. Darts will soon be included in Olympic Games. The game is yet to gain adequate popularity in India as compared to the European nations. We have taken this initiative to popularize the game in our country & bring out the best players for representing India in the future. All the best players from the country will participate in the tournament. We have started the premier league in Kolkata which will be followed by similar tournaments in other metro cities” said Mr Prasanta Saha, Chairman, DPL & Secretary General, All India Darts Association.

The players will be divided into three categories A, B & C for the auction. Group A will comprise of 7 marquee players, Group B will comprise of National champions & Group C will comprise of State champions. Each match will comprise of five games including men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s double, open doubles & mixed doubles. The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals. The winning team will be awarded with a Trophy and prize money of Rs 6,00,000/- & runners up with a Trophy and Rs 4,00,000/-. The tournament will begin from 5th June, 2016. The Semi-Finals & Finals will be held on 10th & 11th June, 2016 respectively. The matches will be played at Saturday Club, Bengal Club & CCFC.

The Players’ Auction will be held on 12th May, 2016 at CCFC.

About All India Darts Association:

Formed in the year 2000, All India Darts Association has traveled a long distance. It has distributed free Dart Boards to many Schools, Clubs and even individuals who have demonstrated tremendous potential to grow. At present All India Darts Association has 15 affiliated State Associations. All India Darts Association, though still very young, has done a plethora of events to popularize the game and remodeled it from a game of elite to a game that can be played by the ordinary mass. It has organized competitions in all levels like Clubs, Schools, Corporates, States, Zonal and National among others. All India Darts Association has sent Indian teams for various International Competitions like Asia Pacific Cup, Singapore Open, , Philippines Open, Winmau and World Cup Darts where around 71 affiliated countries of All India Darts Association participates. As a young organization they have received appreciation and support from many corners of the society including Sports Authority of India and also Indian Olympic Association.

For further information please contact: Sreeraj Mitra / Debarjun Kar / Saurav Mukherjee Sagittarius.Inc Ph: 9007307884 / 9874559911 / 8697719310