New Delhi, July 20, 2013: The Indian Badminton League Players Auction 2013 will be held on Monday, 22 July, 2013, at the Shangri-La, New Delhi.

The proceedings will begin at 11:00 am. The auction will be conducted by London-based Bob auctioneer Hayton, who is well-known for his association with Bid & Hammer Fine Art Auctioneers. "The auction signals the start of the first season of what we hope will mark a phenomenal beginning for Indian badminton. The 2013 edition of the IBL will feature six teams and it will be interesting to see how the Franchises go about bolstering their respective line-ups prior to the IBL. The developments during the auction will be followed by badminton fans from all over the country and abroad, who cannot wait for the action to begin," said Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta, IBL Chairman.

The opening match of the IBL 2013 will take place on August 14 in New Delhi. 
"Some of the biggest promoters of sports will be bidding for the finest players in the world and we hope the IBL auction will usher in a dynamic makeover for Indian badminton," said Ashish Chadha, CEO Sporty Solutionz, the Commercial Partner for IBL.
The ranking of the players mentioned in the list attached are as at the time of their signing the IBL Auction Consent Form. The list includes all the international and top Indian players while the remaining list of Indian players will be shared on the day of the auction. 
Notes to Editors:

1. The IBL Auction will be held in the Ganga, Tapti and Vyas Halls, Shangri-La, New Delhi on July 22 2013. Proceedings will commence at 11:00am sharp

2. Media will be permitted into the auction room followed by a media conference at the Shangri-La

3. Media conferences with the IBL Chairman and/or Franchise members will take place during the auction. The schedule for these conferences will be advised on the day

4. Camerapersons and camera equipment will be allowed inside the Auction room & the Media Conference area

5. All media representatives wishing to attend the auction must register at the Media Registration Desk for accreditation before entering the auction room on Monday, July 22, 2013. The media is requested to register at least 30 minutes before the auction begins at 11 am

6. There will be a restriction on the number of media representatives per organisation who can register in order to ensure equal opportunity to all members of the media

New Delhi, July 20, 2013: Radio Mirchi 98.3 F.M., India?s popular FM station concluded its search for the ?Next Gen? RJ?s. Akansha Sharma was declared the winner of the Lotus White glow Mirchi RJ Hunt powered by catch, biking partner Hero MotoCorp and entertainment partner Bluo at a glamorous and fascinating finale held at PVR Bluo, Vasant Kunj. She was selected amidst tough competition from 10 other finalists competing for the title.

Adding a dash of glamour and drama to the evening was the presence of the young generation heart throb Prateik Babbar and Bollywood debutant Amyra Dastur who have been associated with the current edition of the ?RJ Hunt? since its inception. Hilarious gyan tips from RJ Naved & RJ Rohit and enthralling performances by music band kept the audience engaged throughout the evening.

Prateik Babbar; Amyra Dastur and RJ Naved, judged the contestants. They were subjected to four gruelling rounds. The first round ?Bakwaas band mat kar? provided them with an opportunity to express themselves through a topic that they had to pick up from various topics. The second screening round ?Tamasha dikha naam kama? encouraged the contestants to exhibit another side of their talent. The third round ?Judgebaat? was a question and answer session between the judges and the contestants. The final round ?Lo karlo baat? ? gave a chance to the contestants to showcase their true RJ talent by constantly speaking on a topic of their choice in an attempt to engage the listeners present.

Commenting on this initiative Vivek Modi, Vice-President and Cluster Head for North region, Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM said, ?The RJ hunt was conceptualised with the aim to provide fresh talent in the city with a platform to prove their mettle. We at Radio Mirchi are looking for an RJ with compelling personality, connectivity with listeners and the ability to handle difficult situations. Familiarity of the city and the local dialect is also very essential to be able to connect to the listeners. We are overwhelmed with the response received year after year for the initiative and would like to thank our listeners for this.?

New Delhi, 20 July 2013: In a statement issued today, the world No.1 player Lee Chong Wei said he is very excited to be part of the Players Auction for the $1-million Indian Badminton League, commencing from August 14-31, 2013.

The IBL Auction will be held in New Delhi on July 22, 2013, with London-based auctioneer Bob Hayton set to conduct the bidding amongst the six franchises.

LCW, as he is popularly known, said, ?Any step being taken to promote and popularize badminton is highly commendable. Indian badminton has produced some legendary players for the sport and it?s a great moment for all of us that India is taking a major step forward by conducting the Indian Badminton League.?

The two-time Olympic silver medalist said he is looking forward to playing with different nationalities and interacting with fans in different cities in India during the IBL. ?It will be exciting to play in different cities in India. I have been travelling a lot to New Delhi but this will be a new experience and I hope to have a great time teaming up with players from different countries.?
LCW also applauded the IBL for organizing the first-ever auction for badminton players. ?It is a new concept and will thrill the fans no doubt. I hope the team owners will also make some good choices.?

The $1-million Indian Badminton League is set to launch on August 14, 2013, with some high-voltage action expected between Delhi Smashers and Pune Pistons. The 2013 IBL will feature six franchises and will run for 18 days. Each franchise will host a two-day leg and the League will showcase a grand total of 90 matches, providing broadcasters and in-stadia spectators with more than 100 hours of LIVE ?family entertainment? which will also be viewed by a significant international audience. The matches will be held during late afternoon and evening to coincide with prime time television and providing a convenient time for the stadium audience. The LIVE IN-stadia entertainment, combined with high-octane on-court action is expected to further hook viewers onto this new adrenalin packed LIVE family entertainment format attracting a much younger fan base, which also includes women and children.

The top four franchises in the League will clash in the semifinals and the winners will meet in the grand final on August 31, which will be played out in Mumbai, for the richest prize money tournament in badminton till now.

The IBL is also running the biggest school championship for badminton in India ? Shuttle Express. The IBL School Programme is expected to touch five lakh children in more than 120 schools in six major cities, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow Pune and Bangalore. The Shuttle Express offers Rs 10 lakh as prize money and an opportunity to train at the world-class Pullela Gopichand Academy to the young talent.

MUMBAI: Registrations for the 11thedition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, to be run on January 19, 2014, were launched by His Excellency, the Governor of Maharashtra Shri K Sankaranarayanan at Raj Bhavan, here, on Thursday. Present on the occasion to herald in Mumbai?s most awaited annual sporting and social event were the Hon?ble Mayor of Mumbai, Shri Sunil Prabhu, Hon?ble Deputy Mayor, Shri Mohan Mithbaokar and Event Ambassador John Abraham. Representing title sponsors Standard Chartered was Ravi Duvvuru, Regional Head, Compliance, India & South Asia, along with Vishal Jhunjhuwala, Head Corporate Brand, Tata Consultancy Services, the Associate Sponsors and Sunil Mehta from United Way of Mumbai, the official charity partner to the event. Event Promoters Procam International was represented by MD Anil Singh and Jt. MD, Vivek B Singh.

Registrations for the Full Marathon and Half Marathon will open at 10.00 am on July 19, 2013. Physical modes of registration at Standard Chartered branches to close onSeptember 13, 2013 or whenever running places are full, whichever is earlier.

Depending on availability of running places, registrations through online applications and P.O. Box entries will remain open till November 30, 2013 or till running places are full, whichever is earlier.

Registrations for the Dream Run will open on August 26, 2013 and close on August 31, 2013, while registrations for the Senior Citizens Run and the Wheelchair Event will open on September 2, 2013 and close on September 13, 2013 or whenever running places are full, whichever is earlier.

Registration process: Steps have been taken to provide various avenues for registration to facilitate a hassle-free process. Online registration can be done through the event website www.procamrunning.in/scmm or the duly filled entry form along with the requisite entry fee can be mailed to P.O. Box No. 11017, Marine Lines Post Office, Mumbai 400 020. Mumbai residents can also deposit their entry form along with the requisite entry fees at 10 selected Standard Chartered Bank branches, details of which are available on the website www.procamrunning.in/scmm.

Entry forms will be available at select Standard Chartered Bank branches in Mumbai, at the Asian Heart Institute and the United Way of Mumbai office 309, Nirman Kendra Premises Co-op society ltd., Dr. E. Moses Road, Mahalaxmi Estate, Mumbai. Application forms are also available for download online @ www.procamrunning.in/scmm.). More information can be sourced from the event helpline no: +91 22 4202 0200, Monday to Saturday between 10 a.m. & 6. p.m.

4,500 running places are on offer for the Full Marathon, while 13,000 places will be available for the Half Marathon. The Dream Run, including the Corporate Challenge, will accommodate 21,000 participants. 1500 entries will be permitted in the Senior Citizens? Run, while 300 entries will be accepted for the Wheelchair Event, putting the total number of entries accepted at 40,300.

Continuing in their constant endeavour to evolve and improve while providing the best possible running experience to each participant, and in order to encourage the participation of serious runners in the full marathon and half marathon. The event will only accept applications from runners who have attached a timing certificate from the previous two years. Detailed confirmation criterion is available on the event website.

To give a fillip to women there will be a 250 running places in the full marathon and 1000 running places in the half marathon reserved for women applicants.

Applicants who do not fall within the timed runner criteria or the women?s quota can avail of the running places that have been allotted to the NGOs registered with United Way of Mumbai, the event?s official charity partner. These running places will be available with the respective NGOs at a premium from August 19, 2013. Details about the same can be got from logging on to www.procamrunning.in/scmm.

Confirmed applicants of the full marathon and half marathon will also be eligible for priority line up on race day, based on their finish times.

The full marathon runners will be prioritized in four groups, namely below four hours 13 minutes; four hours 13 minutes to under 4 hours 55 minutes; 4 hours 55 minutes to under 5 hours 37 minutes and 5 hours 37 minutes and above. The half marathoners will also be prioritized in seven groups, namely under 1 hour 25 minutes; 1 hours 25 minutes to under 1 hour 46 minutes; 1 hour 46 minutes to under 2 hours 7 minutes; 2 hours 7 minutes to under 2 hours 28 minutes; 2 hours 28 minutes to under 2 hours 49 minutes; 2 hours 49 minutes to under 3 hours 10 minutes; and 3 hours 10 minutes and above.

Speaking on this development, Vivek B Singh, Jt. MD, Procam International said, ?These initiatives are being introduced to recognize the achievements of our serious runners, as well as encourage more and more amateur runners to train and make a wholehearted effort at attempting the full or half marathon distance.?

Vivek Singh also touched on the impact the early registration window would have on the wonderful exercise of raising money for charity through the event, the biggest positive fallout that has seen close to Rs 89.6 crores being raised towards charity in nine years.

CASH BONANZA: The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2014 will now offer an enhanced prize purse of USD 360,000, an increase equivalent of USD 10,000 over what was on offer in 2013. Growing in all parameters for the past ten editions, the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has now become the focal rallying point for the city of Mumbai because it espouses causes and values that touch every citizen, whatever the age group and regardless of their financial status and social standing. Promoters Procam International, along with the sponsors and partners, will not cease in their efforts to innovate and evolve in order to provide a memorable experience to the participant.

Title Sponsor: Standard Chartered Bank

Associate Sponsor: Tata Consultancy Services

Promoted by: Procam International

Under the Aegis of: Athletic Federation of India

New Delhi: - Kitsch ? "the first luxury fashion retail destination" is all set to launch its new flagship store at Defence colony in the first week of August. It is going to be the first standalone store in Delhi and comes with a bag full of surprises for its customers that shall be reviled at the time of launch.

Kitsch epitomizes consistently the season?s must-have collection for the fashion lovers with the latest collection of ready to wear, accessories, bags and shoes from the world?s top luxury fashion brands such as Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent Paris, Rag & Bone, Stella McCartney, Diane Von Furstenberg, Halston Heritage, Alice & Olivia and Herve Leger and many more for both men and women ready to wear and accessories. Dolce and Gabbana, Victoria Beckham, Rachel Roy and Dsquared2 are the latest addition to the universe of Kitsch.

Creative director of TSG International Priya Sachdev and CEO Charu Sachdev will celebrate the opening of their new flagship store on the swanky street of Defence colony. Already crowned with names like JJ Vallaya, Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani will now be flanked by the one stop destination of panache and style in the form of Kitsch. Pioneering the luxury trail of India, Kitsch steps in with opulence to deliver the best to its customer.

With a personal assistance of your own stylist and a concierge at every step the benefits of the exclusivity will be adored by you. Kitsch is known to give the best to its HNIs and assures excellent products at prices that are lower than their contemporaries in Europe, Middle East or any South East Asia (such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai). An unstoppable journey treating the cr?me de la cr?me of Delhi with utmost flamboyance is the power of Kitsch.

Address:-

Kitsch - D-17, Defence Colony, New Delhi -110024. Contact 011-46098212