Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) under the aegis of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), announced the launch of ZEE Kushti Dangal at an event held in Delhi today. Rooting for the ZEE Kushti Dangal, legendary grapplers such as Sushil Kumar, Vinesh Phogat, Divya Kakran, and Sandeep Tomar were present at the launch announcement of the coveted property. With Member of Parliament and popular actor Ravi Kishan being the brand ambassador ZEE Kushti Dangal, the property is all set to strike the right chords with the sports and entertainment seeking audience.
Taking the sports excellence in wrestling several notches up, Season 1 of the dangal will kick start from November 3, 2019. With 8 franchisee teams, each featuring 4 male and 3 female grappler, a total of 86 wrestlers will fight it out across 7 weight categories and 151 bouts.
The kushti dangal will be held in Banaras and Jaipur, while the players will be selected across seven states- Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. With the promise of making wrestling a family-viewing show, the two hours of high-voltage action will be complemented with bouts of entertainment that will telecast on BIG Magic, BIG Ganga, Zee Bollywood, and Zee Hindustan.
Speaking on the launch of ZEE Kushti Dangal, Mukund Cairae – COO, International Business & ZEEL – Head of Sports Business said, “As a group, ZEEL, since its very inception, has been at the forefront of creating novel platforms that discover and promote talent across various arts, disciplines and sporting activities. A platform like ZEE Kushti Dangal is the perfect springboard that young and upcoming wrestlers across the country need in order to make the giant leap in their career. High on a regional appeal, we are highly optimistic that, through our extensive domestic broadcasting network, we shall bring the sport to millions of households across the country and popularize the sport amongst the masses. With each of the fights, boasting of action that will keep audiences hooked and at the edge of their seats, we are proud to have made a telling contribution towards elevating wrestling to greater heights.”
On being the brand ambassador of the property, Member of Parliament and popular actor Ravi Kishan said, “I would firstly like to thank the ZEEL group for being the forerunners in providing a platform to budding wrestlers across the country to now go and make a name for themselves. While the country continues to produce stalwarts in the sport, Kushti has been a sport that’s been in our blood since ages. We have grown up seeing dangals they used to be one of the major sources of entertainment. I am extremely happy and excited that here issuch a big platform that is promoting the sport in its raw form while bringing it at par with other national and international sports.”
Talking about the association Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, President – Wrestling Federation of India said, “We are extremely happy to associate with ZEEL, one of the largest media houses in the county. They’ve been one who, through their endeavours and initiatives, have always given masses an opportunity to make a name for themselves and see the abundance of rising talent there is. We firmly believe that the association will take the sport to newer spaces and audiences while enabling us to engage with our patrons in various exciting ways. We are hopeful that while the platform will provide fans with nail-biting action and entertainment, it will also help to identify newer talent in the world of Kushti.”
The 19-day wrestling extravaganza will also feature a host of celebrities that’s sure to take the entertainment quotient up a notch.