As a star-studded Punjab Marshalls team gets ready to conquer the hearts of tennis-enthusiasts in the Champions Tennis League (CTL) 2015, the team management has decided to do away with entry tickets for home matches. The management has decided not to levy any entry fee, becoming the first franchisee to do so in CTL 2.
Elina Svitolina
Punjab Marshalls will play their home matches at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association Stadium onNovember 27-28 and franchise owners Gurpreet Singh Kiki and Kudrat Tamber are confident that this move will bring tennis-lovers of the Union Territory in large numbers to support the team.
“This is a great opportunity for youngsters in Chandigarh to witness some world-class tennis without spending a rupee. The experience will be priceless and that’s what we want,” said 49-year-old franchise owner.
In the first edition of the CTL too, Punjab Marshalls was the only team to have free entry for it’s home matches in Chandigarh. The response was tremendous as fans thronged the stadium to watch the ties, which prompted a similar move this year.
Saketh Myneni
The action-packed league that is the brainchild of legendary player Vijay Amritraj, will be played from November 23rd to December 6th.
Recipient of last year’s Most Valuable Player of the tournament, Marcos Bhagdatis of Cyprus, who was a part of the team that won the CTL 2014 title, will now power the Punjab Marshalls’ campaign this season.
“We are proud to have Marcos Baghdatis in our team this time. It will bring a lot of depth in the team composition, thanks to his experience on the Tour,” team owner Gurpreet Singh Kiki said. He also expressed confidence that the new Marshalls this season will bring glory to the team.
Other team members of Punjab Marshalls are British-Canadian player and former World No.4 Greg Rusedski, Ukrain’s Elina Svitolina (World No.20) and India’s No. 2 and Incheon Asian Games gold medallist Saketh Myneni.
Entering the fray with a strong team, the Marshalls are currently clubbed with Mumbai Tennis Masters and the Raipur Rangers in Group A.
The Marshalls finished third in the zonal group last year, but franchise owner, Gurpreet Singh Kiki is confident of a sterling show this time around. The tag line “Hai Dum” too asserts capabilities and talent, and also throws sheer challenge towards the oppositions.
“We are happy with the team we have picked. The competition is stiff this season and we are supremely confident about our chances.”
With each team in the group playing each other on home and away basis within their group, the team which wins the highest number of games in each group during the group stage will progress further in the League.
The roaring lions of Punjab Marshalls start their CTL2 campaign in Mumbai on 23-24 November!