Format of Shooting League of India will be quicker, more-spectator friendly and fun: NRAI president | Sport-others News

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced the launch of the country’s first-ever franchise league in shooting, called the Shooting League of India (SLI). The inaugural edition is set to take place in March next year, subject to ISSF approvals. NRAI president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo spoke to The Indian Express on how the league will be spectator-friendly as well as sustainable in the long run. Excerpts:
Since the IPL started every sport wants to start a league but very few have been successful. So why is the NRAI looking at a league?
The backdrop of our success at Olympics, the need to have a platform where shooters, including junior shooters, can compete on home soil with international shooters, to increase the visibility of the sport and also for funding for the federation. Funding for NRAI so that we can spend on grassroot development of the sport.
Shooting is not a spectator-friendly sport so how will you sell the idea?
We are still working on the format and the model. We also need to look at what sells in the market. We intend to make the league quicker, more-spectator friendly and more fun. For example, one of the most exciting matches to watch at the Paris Olympics were the mixed matches, and especially in the rifle and pol arena. It happens that sometimes the woman does better than the man and vice versa. Things like this make it more exciting. We are looking at how shooting is developing and will try to incorporate some of that in a quicker and more exciting format. We are going to allow the technical committee of NRAI to ultimately decide on the format on the basis of what sells in the market.
There are 450 million people who play shooting games in Esports so is there a possibility that we can add a complementary initiative there?. We have to think out of the box.
But do you see this league being a sustainable project in the long run?
I have had an initial conversation with several stakeholders and I am of the belief that we can create a format that will certainly work. It will be an opportunity for NRAI and Indian shooting to be the forerunner for this format. We are working at a fast pace on this. There will be some sort of revenue that comes from franchise owners and there will be some sort of revenue sharing to give back to the franchises. Repackaging the format will be critical to the league’s success. We are clear that it is going to be financially viable for our franchise partners and we want to ensure it is attractive for top shooters. We see our franchise partners as long-term partners to make the league successful.
Will this be a single-city league or a multi-city league?
We have many venues across the country that can host the league. But my first priority is to make this league financially viable.