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What's the story?
With social media taking over the world by storm, one did not think that a messaging platform such as WhatsApp would have a drastic impact on sports one day. A group chat and one idea led to the formation of an entire team in just a matter of two days.
The Pro Wrestling League (PWL) is back with its third season comeback this year and has seen the birth of an all-new professional team called the Veer Marathas, all thanks to the veteran members of a Whatsapp group chat. The team includes the likes of Ritu Malik, Ritu Phogat, Mavra Amri, Natalaya Varobiva and Geogey Kitov to name a few.
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In case you didn't know...
The PWL, took off on the 9th of January 2018 this year to initiate its third season ever since its inception in 2015. The popular wrestling event will mark a historical leap this season as it will be featuring an Olympic style Greco-Roman format for the first time ever. Slated to take place over the next 18 days, this event will be held in New Delhi at the Siri Fort Complex.
The heart of the matter
The Veer Marathas have inched closer to the semi-finals after beating the Delhi Sultans on Sunday. This team has created history with regard to its inception. It was formed by some of the best names in the world of sports, that too over a social messaging platform.
The Veer Marathas are Mumbai's debutant team and consist of a number of Olympic and World medal winners. It is said that this talented team took shape out of a WhatsApp group called "Indian Sports Fan" that is inclusive of various top sportspersons and journalists both national and international. Some of these names comprise the likes of Anju Bobby George and hockey coach Harendra Singh. One of the members of this group, who happens to be a sports enthusiast, Gaurav Wankhede who mentioned the names of veterans in this group to the PWL promoters. It was on this casual mention that one of the group members suggested that they required a new owner for one of their teams. "Almost by accident, we mentioned to Gaurav that we were on the lookout for a new owner for one of our teams for the upcoming season of PWL," a member of the group said.
As a result of this, a close friend Ranjit Saxena was contacted, who has eventually become the owner and mentor to Veer Marathas. After having gathered more interests from members, the team was formed within 48 hours and is worth 7 crores today. Also jumping onto the bandwagon as co-owners were Sameer and Ravi Jain.
An enthusiastic Saxena told IANS, "Our destination was, however, not the League itself. Our goal is to promote wrestling in a big way in Maharashtra. The state used to be the home for wrestling in the past. We will try to regain that past glory with our initiatives."
What's next?
The debutant Veer Marathas, who have been doing well this season, will now feature in the semifinals.
Author's take
The inception of the Veer Marathas is nothing short of a historical achievement. It is always good to see social media being put to good use for the betterment of Indian sports and the country on a whole.
