Hyderabad : Hyderabad-based digital media entertainment firm Silly Monks, which was listed on the National Stock Exchange, has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Chintala Sports Private Limited.
Chintala Sports is the curator of Telangana Premier Kabaddi League (TPKL), a regional avatar of the hugely successful Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), in its second season this September.
TPKL entered the sports league arena in 2017, with its first season held at Warangal and Karimnagar between January 21 and February 7, 2017.
It brought to the fore the game of Kabaddi from the hinterlands of Telangana and ensured that local players were given the right exposure to talent hunters for the national leagues. In its second season this year, TPKL plans to adopt the franchise model that is currently followed by Pro Kabaddi League and other major sports leagues in the country.
TPKL’s matches are scheduled to begin from September 14 to September 30, 2018, which will be held in Hyderabad.
“My years at ESPN, Star Sports and Sony Max handling major sports events such as World Cup Cricket, Wimbledon and English Premiere League piqued my interest in sports entertainment. Nurturing a similar property in my home state was but a matter of time and when opportunity struck, Silly Monks was more than interested in being at the core of TPKL,” said Silly Monks Managing Director, Mr Sanjay Reddy, who now takes over as the League Commissioner.
Quoted the legendary Arthur Ashe, Sanjay further added: “You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limit, that is real joy.” He also added, “Being an army child, I have always held athleticism and sports as central to leading a healthy life, and yet when we look around and find most state level players of sports apart from cricket or Tennis unable to find the right platform, it feels a shame to not step in and correct the state of things. I am thankful that Chintala Sports and TPKL has given us the opportunity to be at the forefront of creating history through this league. Given the sports industry trends in the country today, and watching carefully how the Pro Kabaddi League is gradually catching up to the popularity levels of IPL, I am confident in the value that this will bring in not only for the players and the league but also for those franchisees who have reposed their faith in the dream,” he added.
Chintala Sports is toying with the idea of creating more sports leagues in basketball, futsal and an Olympic-style entity involving all Olympic sports mainly targeting the corporates in the coming months.
Mr Praveen Reddy, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Chintala Sports, is hopeful of taking his dream of setting up sports leagues to make the country sports conscious and allowing for the future generations to be confident in seeking a career in sports rather than only playing at amateur levels.
“Taking each of these sportspersons from the street corners to the television screens was the thought behind aligning with the digital media entertainment giant Silly Monks Entertainment. There is always a great value-add in a strategic business alignment to make your dream reach fruition and our belief in the resources and experiences at Silly Monks assures us of making it happen,” Mr Praveen Reddy said.
