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Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said: “The success of India’s badminton stars internationally has led to the emergence of a passionate fan base back home. As a result, like Kabaddi, badminton is now a sport that’s very close to the hearts of Indian fans. The prospect of our home heroes facing up against the best the world has to offer in our own backyard was a prospect that was too tempting to pass up. Strategically, it also made the most business sense for Star Sports given our efforts to create a

Mr. Uday Shankar, CEO – Star India said, “Stories matter. We have long held the belief that content shapes the mindspace and cultural bloodstream of a nation. This belief is validated seeing that our content is shaping and defining the majority of trending searches in India. What’s gratifying also is to see two of our brands hotstar and starsports as the only two brands that feature on the list.”

Sanjay Gupta, chief operating officer of Star India, says in football and kabaddi, brands have seen the power of sports play out and hence are far more open to sponsoring. "That's a big shift in India."