Scorpions win KDD-KBL 2016 Feb playoff – Lions, Rainbow Archers finish as 1st, 2nd runners up

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KUWAIT CITY, March 9: In the KDD–Kuwait Badminton League 2016 February playoff held on the Feb 25 and 26, 2016 the Scorpions won the title without losing any tie on their way to the finals.

KDD–Kuwait Badminton League 2016 has 2 playoffs – one playoff was held in February and the next is scheduled for September 2016.

The Scorpions emerged victorious with a clinical 4-3 win over Lions and Rainbow Archers won the 2nd runners up title defeating ACME Acers 5-2

The Scorpions, Winner KDD–KBL 2016, February playoff – owner Rajesh Panicker & Amith Krishnan

Anto Santiko, Aneef K Latheef, Sarin Joseph, Jabbar Farooqi, Sreekumar Gopinathan Nair, Saju Thomas, Mohammad Elkhyat, Sajeeve Punnakkal, Choi Yougie, Manju Roney, Juvy Caina, Pradeepan PM, Sayooj Ajaykumar, Manas Manoj, Keegan Sanctis; Dinesh Nair and Vishnu Sreekumar (international players)

Lions– 1st runners-up KDD–KBL 2016, February playoff

Owner Syam SP, Bipin Madhavan, Sunny Mathew

Jerosh Koshy, Kishore Kumar, Bibin Mathew, Sanal Nambiar, Erwin Mercado, Emmanuel Elesis, Shahoor Ali, Nanang Reska, Syam SP, Alma Levy, AinurJubail, Suraj Arun Bapu, Adarsh Kamath, Iyan Sumarna, James Varghese–international player

Rainbow Archers– 2nd Runners up KDD–KBL 2016, February playoff

Owner Asif

Faheem Contractor, Suresh Ramachandran, Yashin Bose, Anthony Glen Relova, Dadang Rudiyanto, Mohammad Nurrohim, Muradh Niyas, Gokul Natarajan, Joseph Tantiago, Joy Dela Cruz, Jeanette Tantiago, Dharshan Ramesh, Danush, Rohit Haridas–international player

Trophies and prize money for KDD–KBL playoff was awarded to winners.

The 2nd runners-up trophy and prize money was awarded by Mohan Menon, Chief Referee KDD–KBL; the 1st runners-up trophy and prize money was awarded by Ahmed Darwesh, Country Manager – Indomie; the Winners trophy and prize money was awarded by Allen Periera, Sales Manager – Air Arabia

Mementos were given to umpires and line judges for their services during the tournament by Allen Periera

The KBL 2016 has 6 teams comprising IBAK members. The teams are sponsored by individuals and corporates.

The top 102 players who practice across different clubs in Kuwait were auctioned into each team in January 2016. The auction was conducted by Engineer Suresh Elias at IBAK on Jan 18.

This year the league features eight international players who have added flavor to the competition in the league. KDD–KBL was a good opportunity for players where senior/international players played the juniors imparting experience and expertise.

This year saw the addition of two categories to the tie — the Under 15 and Ladies Doubles. The Under 15, clearly a great addition, helped the boys and girls to practice and gain guidance from senior players. The Ladies Doubles was in tune with IBAK’s vision to give boost to women’s badminton in Kuwait. The players who participated in this year’s edition represent a wide variety of nationalities and practice daily in various clubs across Kuwait. IBAK sincerely thanks all the clubs who supported this great venture which is regarded as the topmost rated badminton tournament in Kuwait.

The preparation for the tournament began when IBAK opened its doors to all players for practice in the first week of February.

The month saw intense training sessions by all teams which resulted in the league being this competitive. All owners and captains were instrumental in making this a success.

The opening ceremony was graced by Subramanian – VP Business integration KDD. In his address he encouraged the players to maintain a healthy lifestyle which was in line with the vision of KDD.

KBL is the premier and only professional badminton league in Kuwait. Indian Badminton Association Kuwait (IBAK) in association with Kuwait Badminton federation (KBF) had conceived the idea of a league in 2015 and this is the 2nd consecutive year in which the league is held. Kuwait Danish Diary (KDD) remains the title sponsor of Kuwait Badminton League this year too.

KDD-KBL 2016 Teams are as follows: 1. Acme Acers, Lions, 3. Rainbow Archers, 4.The Scorpions, 5. Thanjai Ninjas and 6. Shuttle Dragons

This year’s matches were played in league-cum-knockout format; the league was played in full round robin format and four top teams based on league wins and points qualified for the knockout phase (semifinals). The winner of semifinals clashed in the finals and losers went on to play the losers finals. The Matches began at 9.30 pm on Feb 25 and the initial tie was between the following teams — Rainbow Archers vs Lions, Thanjai Ninjas vs Shuttle Dragons and The Scorpions vs ACME Acers.

Corporate Sponsors of KBL and its teams

Kuwait Badminton League 2015 title sponsor–Kuwait Danish Diary (KDD) which in line with its vision of ‘Wholesome Goodness’ KDD came forward to support KBL for the second consecutive year; Apex was the court sponsor; Lions was sponsored by McDonalds, GPES; Acers by ACME International; Scorpions by Al-Khadda International, Indomie, KDSC; Rainbow Archers by Air Arabia (the travel sponsor for KBL 2016 flying international players in and out of Kuwait).

KBL Committee:

Dr Manimara Chozhan, President; Sreekumar Gopinathan Nair, Vice President; Prasad Thandasserry, Director; Match Control Chandrahas KT, Director Audit; Mohammad Sirajuddin, Director, Administration; Ramesh Chandra, Director Courts; Ramesh P, Director PR and Sreenivasa Sreedhara, Director, Umpiring.

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