NewZNew (Chandigarh) : Multi-Screen Media (MSM), which has bagged the broadcast rights of the ‘Pro Wrestling League’ for the next 5 years, is all set to roll out its marketing campaign ‘Khel Fauladi’ for the inaugural edition of the Indian wrestling tournament across its 3 channels – Sony MAX, SIX and PAL. Touted as the first home grown league in the realm of wrestling in India, ‘Pro Wrestling League’ (PWL) is a partnership between the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and Pro Sportify Private Limited (PPL). The league will air on the above specified channels of the MSM network from December 10th to December 27th.
Addressing NewZNew at Hotel JW Marriot today, Vaishali Sharma, Senior VP, Marketing & Communications, Sony MAX & MAX2 said that with the campaign Khel Fauladi, our intent is to laud the toughness and endurance that the sport of wrestling demands of its players. The campaign positions wrestling as the most brutal strength of mind and body and promises a never before viewing experience. Wrestling as a sport has its roots well set in India and with this league, there is an opportunity to make it aspirational and larger than life, she maintained.
Sony MAX’s PWL campaign builds the league as the one true, tough sport that has fascinated audiences for years on-ground and now will be see on television featuring the best wrestlers not only from the Indian soil but from across the world. The campaign comprises of two 15 seconder and two 40 seconder TVCs featuring both male and female wrestlers and taps into the insight that male audiences are fascinated and drawn to true strength, toughness and endurance.
The multi-media campaign comprising of television, print, radio and outdoor promotions will be taken across all Hindi speaking markets and will have key players such as Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Babita Kumari, Geeta Phogat, Vinesh Phogat, Amit Dahiya, Narsingh Yadav, Bajrang Punia, Mausam Khatri and Rahul Aware amongst others fronting the campaign.
PWL will see six teams fight it out to win the champion’s title. Witnessing a total of 18 ties including 2 semi-finals and the grand finale based on best-of-nine bouts, the tournament which will be contested in accordance with Olympic wrestling rules will travel to 6 venues, namely, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Each team will comprise of nine wrestlers – five men and four women – with a maximum cap of four foreign wrestlers on the team roster.
Mr. Neeraj Vyas, Senior EVP, Sony MAX & Sony MAX2 said that this is the first time a league like this has been organized to promote one of the oldest sport rooted in the ethos of Indian culture and a sport that has helped India bag the gold, silver and bronze medals at the Olympics. By gaining the broadcast rights to ‘Pro Wrestling League, we consider it an honor to help popularize this sport and in turn give its due recognition and glory.”
Teams:
The tournament, that will begin on December 10, will see world-class grapplers fighting for Delhi Veer (owned by GMR Group), Bangalore Yodhha (JSW Group), CDR Punjab Royals (CDR Group and Actor Dharmendra), UP Warriors (Lotus Greens), Haryana Hammers (Olive Global) and Mumbaiche Garude (Maverick Industries, Mafatlal, Garudacharya).
Venue
- a) Delhi – K.D. Jadhav Stadium
- b) Ludhiana – Guru Nanak Indoor Stadium
- c) Haryana – Hyatt Regency
- d) U.P.- Gautam Budh Univrsity, Eklavya Sports Complex
- e) Mumbai – Film City, Mumbai
- f) Bangalore – Koramangala Stadium
Here is the full list of players with their teams:
TEAM PUNJAB
- Geeta Phogat —
- Vladimir Khinchegashvili –
- Rajneesh —
- Parveen Rana —
- Mausam K —
- Jargal C —
- Fredrika P —
- Vasilisa Marzaliuk —
TEAM HARYANA
- Yogeshwar Dutt —
- Amit Dahiya —
- Livan Lopez Azcuy —
- Yuri Maier —
- Hitender —
- Nirmal Devi —
- Tatyana K —
- Oksana Herhel —
- Geetika Jakhar —
TEAM MUMBAI
- Adeline Gray —
- Rahul Aware —
- Amit Dhankar —
- Pardeep —
- Odikadze E —
- Levan B —
- Ritu Phogat —
- Odunayo —
- Sakshi Malik —
TEAM BENGALURU
- Narsingh Yadav —
- Sandeep Tomar —
- Bajrang Punia —
- Pavlova O —
- Modzmanashvili D —
- Alyssa L —
- Lalita S —
TEAM DELHI
- Sofia Mattsson —
- Ravi Kumar —
- NavruzovI Khtiyor —
- Gurpal Singh —
- Petriashvili Geno —
- Vinesh Phogat —
- Yesilirmak E —
- Nikki —
TEAM UTTAR PRADESH
- Sushil Kumar —
- Sergey Ratushniy —
- Ganzorig M —
- Satyavrat K –
- Kogut O —
- Joginder —
- Babita Kumari —