Indian sports wrap, July 11: Doordarshan willing to share telecast revenue with sports federations

HANDBALL

DD signs MoU with handball association

National broadcaster Doordarshan is willing to share the revenue generated through the telecast of sporting events with sports federations after deducting the production cost, said Prasar Bharati chairman Navneet Kumar Sehgal on Friday.

Generating revenue is one of the most difficult tasks for National Sports Federations (NSFs) of lesser-known sports in India, and Prasar Bharati’s initiative to telecast their events and share the proceeds could help the federations become self-sufficient to an extent.

“Our revenue model is like, whatever we earn out of showing these sports activities, we will first deduct our production cost. And then (we will) share the revenue with the sports association.

“In this case, we will share the extra revenue with the Handball Association of India,” said Sehgal after signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Handball Association of India (HAI) to telecast their events on Doordarshan.

“So, this way the sports association also get some revenue. Otherwise, normally, what used to happen was that, except for a few sports, others used to be ignored. But now (we) have a commitment that whatever we earn out of that (telecast), we will first deduct our production cost and the remaining we will share with them (NSFs).”

“But the thing is, the visibility of these (lesser-known) sports is not there in the rural areas, particularly rural and semi-urban areas. And Doordarshan has a very big presence in these areas.

“And to make these sports (popular), we have already signed an agreement with Hockey India and we are covering their national championships… and their (Hockey India) League also,” added Sehgal.

He added that Prasar Bharati is also in talks with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) to telecast their events.

– PTI

Motorsport

National Rotax Max karting set to kick off

The first round of the MECO – FMSCI National karting championship for the Rotax Max classes will begin at the CoASTT circuit in Coimbatore on Saturday.

The championship comprises six rounds with the grand finale slated for November 8 and 9. The four National champions in the Senior Max, Junior Max, Mini Max and Micro Max categories at the end of the championship will represent India in the Rotax Max Challenge grand finals in Bahrain from November 29 to December 6.

The current season will witness the introduction of the Mini Max category, for racers under 11 years of age. The Senior Max has attracted 34 entries, and Bengaluru boys Rishon Rajeev (Birtel Art India) and brothers from Peregrine Racing Rohaan Madesh and Ishaan Madesh, are expected to dominate.

The Junior Max class will be headlined by last year’s champion Pune’s Arafath Sheikh (Crest Motorsport) and Chennai’s Eshanth Vengatesan (MSport).

Close competition is expected in the Mini Max class which has a bunch of racers who have moved up from Micro Max. Rivaan Dev Preetham (MSport), along with Hamza Balasinorwala (Crest Motorsports), Rehan Khan Rasheed (MSport)), Yatharth Gaur (Leapfrog Racing) and Danish Dalmiya (Rayo Racing), who were consistently claiming podiums in the Micro Max class last year, have all moved to the new Mini category.

The departure of the top five leaves the Micro Max field open. The official practice, qualifying rounds and Heats will be held ons Saturday followed by the pre-final and final on Sunday.

SIDVIN Energy Engineering is the Presenting sponsor and MRF Tyres, the partner sponsor.

– Rayan Rozario

Levitas Cup cars to roar in JK Tyre National racing

After the late legendary S. Karivardhan’s introduction of FISSME (Formula India Single Seater Maruti Engine) and B. Vijayakumar’s FLGB 1300, Coimbatore has produced another winning combination of ‘Arrive and Drive’ Levitas Cup cars.

The Levitas Cup is an innovative one-make racing series founded and run by Shravanthika Lakshmi, a 21-year-old racing driver from Coimbatore. The series will be part of the broader JK Tyre National Racing Championship ecosystem, representing a fresh approach to touring racing car in India with focus on developing new talent and promoting inclusive motorsport.

Shravanthika, a keen student of music who later changed gears to motorsport, is keen on doing something special. “This indeed is a great opportunity for me to take off,” said the young girl who represented India at the World Motorsports Games in Rome, Italy, in 2019.

Her idea is to uplift grassroot motorsports. “We have 16 cars of which we initially planned for eight rookies and eight professionals. Now with the rookies more interested in getting in, we thought of doing the adjustment by increasing the number to 10,” she said.

However, Shravanthika wants more drivers from Coimbatore to take part. “That’s my concern but I firmly believe in a turnaround.”

Multiple national racing champion Arjun Narendran who did the initial testing was pleased with the performance. “For a newcomer it is really good and a well-balanced car. I was surprised because it was very consistent throughout testing.”

“This is the first time a Touring Car is coming from Coimbatore after a very long time. Also, it’s a brilliant category because there’s no Arrive and Drive programme now.” he added.

The Levitas Cup, which features 16 equally-matched cars ensuring close, competitive racing, will be part of the three rounds of the JK National Racing Championship and there will be eight races in total.

– Rayan Rozario