The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on Wednesday announced the sport's first-ever franchise-based league in the country. The competition will be called "Shooting League of India".
The proposal, mooted by NRAI president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, has received approval from the national federation's governing body.
A window for the same is being chalked out, post receiving approvals from the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), the sport's global governing body.
The first edition of the league will be held in March.
Making the objectives behind the franchise league clear, NRAI Secretary-General Sultan Singh said, "We want to have all 15 Olympic events as part of the SLI, but we will try to innovate and tweak some formats so as to make them more exciting to watch on telecast or livestream. We also want to have unique ownership and team composition, which will help in bringing in newer audiences and sponsors to the sport. More details will be shared soon.”
"Shooting, particularly after the performance in the recent Paris Olympics has received a huge fillip in its popularity and we thought that this was the right moment to launch a league," Narayan Singh Deo said.
"We have seen how well-organised franchise leagues have not only helped in popularising the sport even further, but most importantly have brought in new audiences and revenue for them and their athletes. We owe it to our athletes to make the sport self-sustainable," he added.
At the Paris Olympics, Indian shooters made history by winning three medals in a single sport, which was a first in the country's history.
"Shooting in its purest Olympic form and format is not considered television-friendly. However, we have all deliberated upon it extensively and feel that we may have arrived at a winning formula," he said.
"Let's keep our fingers crossed as all is in the interest of the sport and its super athletes, who have brought glory to the country on global platforms consistently over the last few decades," Deo added.
