National Paintball League (NPL) announces the First NPL Indian International Open 2011
The Championship to see 50 Paintball teams from across India, U.S.A., Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East; Qualification for Division 4 to be held in Bangalore, New Delhi , Mumbai , Pune , Kolkata & Hyderabad; Mr. Ulrich Stahr - the "Rule Book of Paintball" & Head Referee - International to be part of the NPL Indian International Open 2011
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Celebrity Team And NPL All Stars India at NPL Celebrity Match
Ulrich Stahr - Head Referee - Millennium Series - Paintball
-- National Paintball League (NPL) is back in action with the announcement of the first NPL Indian International Open Paintball tournament to be held in February 2011 in Bangalore. The NPL Indian International Open 2011 would see 50 teams from across India, U.S.A., Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East strive for glory. The NPL Indian International Open will run under the aegis of the EPBF referee association.
National Paintball League is affiliated to the Millennium Series - the European Paintball Series - which is the oldest, largest and the most powerful paintball series in the world; sets the rules of the sport and runs the sport worldwide.
Mr. Ulrich Stahr, Head Referee - International also known as the "Rule Book" of Paintball worldwide was in Mumbai / Bangalore to announce the NPL Indian International Open 2011. Ulrich with his vast experience of 20 years in Paintball and having mentored various Leagues & Championship like the Millennium Series, Palm Series, World Cup Asia, would be mentoring NPL in setting up and organizing the first NPL Indian International Open 2011.
Speaking on his experience in the sport, Mr. Ulrich Stahr, Head Referee - International said, "Paintball is the fastest growing extreme sport across the world with more than 15 million players worldwide and 15 major Leagues operational in various parts of the world like America, Europe, Australia, Middle East, South East Asia and now India. However, in India Paintball is still waiting to get recognized as a sport and with NPL and the various other open championships, I foresee a change in the outlook of Indians towards the sport. I sense immense talent and professionalism in the Indian team and hope to see them more often on the world Paintball circuit."
Speaking on the NPL, Mr. Kiran Soans, CEO - National Paintball League and Captain of the All Stars India team said, "National Paintball League was born with the objective of building the sport in India, both as a recreational activity and as a professional sport thereby putting India on the world map of professional Paintball. To work towards our aim we organize Championships and Open tournaments across India from which we select players who represent Indian in various International Paintball tournaments and Championships."
Speaking on the NPL Indian International Open 2011, Mr. Soans said, "The NPL Indian International Open 2011 is an effort to popularize Paintball as a sport in India by getting International professional teams to participate and raise the standard of the game thereby providing an International experience to the Indian Paintball enthusiasts. Since the Indian Paintball sport is very nascent we have decided to have the last three divisions to start with and then move upward for the higher divisions. This format will give Indian teams greater opportunities to master the sport and prepare for the International Level of Paintball."
Prior to the main event, the NPL Indian International Open will organize 6 city Open Championship leading to the city final. The winning team will secure an entry into the DIV 4 of the NPL Indian International Open. The 6 city championship would be held in Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Hyderabad. The final would be held in Bangalore over 3 days and would include the Quarters, Semis and Finals along with the Prelims of the Open Championship and the Finals of the Corporate Championship.
NPL Indian International Open will also host a Paintball exhibition of the best Paintball equipment and hardware manufacturers in the World like DYE, PROTO, TIPPMANN, AZODIN, SMART PARTS, BT, SPYDER, GELKAPS, EMPIRE and ECCLIPSE etc. This will give Indian Paintball enthusiasts an opportunity to witness the gear and hardware that drives the game of Paintball at the highest level.
For more information & registration of your teams contact: +91 9342509388/+91 9844111941 or email kiran@nationalpaintballleague.in ; info@nationalpaintballleague.in
Notes to Editor
About the National Paintball League: (www.nationalpaintballleague.in; www.indianpaintballleague.com)
National Paintball League (NPL) of India, formerly known as the Indian Paintball League was founded in 2008. NPL has been successful in setting up 3 International Paintball zones in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai and is planning to expand across the North, West & Eastern regions of India with the right partner associations who are passionate about the sport and want to promote it diligently. With the league format, NPL has already been successful in organizing professional tournaments in Bangalore and Chennai. By the end of this year NPL plans to launch operations in 3 more cities.
In November 2009, NPL sent 2 teams - NPL All Stars India and NPL All Stars Bangalore to represent India in Div 3 and Div 4 respectively at the World Cup Asia held in Malaysia. The NPL All Stars Bangalore bagged the 9th position in DIV 4 and the NPL All Stars India bagged the 11th position in DIV3 which was a great achievement for a team playing for the first time in an International championship.
NPL is the only organization in India which selects, trains and sends players for International Paintball tournaments. NPL organizes more than 10 tournaments through the year with teams competing from various cities. Each tournament has a point based system and the top team in the country is declared the NPL Champion. NPL also organizes Corporate, College and School Paintball leagues as feeder Leagues which feed into the main league - NPL.
