India's million-dollar foray into franchised team badminton was hailed as a "game changer" on Sunday even though the event was shunned by the sport's powerhouse China.

The Indian Badminton League (IBL) drew an enthusiastic response from fans as six city teams battled for 18 days under innovative rules before Saturday night's final in Mumbai.

The league, trumpeted as badminton's richest event, ensured a big pay packet for players, besides raising the sport's profile in an otherwise cricket-mad country.

"It is great that the IBL became a big hit in its first year itself," said India's national coach Pullela Gopichand. "The players loved it, so did the crowds in all the six cities it was played in."

The teams, owned by business ­houses and individuals, were ­represented by players from around the globe, ­including world No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who were bought at an auction in July.

Lee was, unsurprisingly, the top pick as he was sold to the Mumbai franchise, co-owned by former Indian cricket c­aptain Sunil Gavaskar, for $135,000.

"The IBL is a game-changer as far as Indian badminton is concerned," said former India international and ­commentator Sanjay Sharma.

"It gave a platform for our juniors to rub ­shoulders and learn from world stars."

An official of the Badminton Association of India said two or three more teams could be added next year, while efforts will be made to get the powerful Chinese on board.

"The Chinese backed out this year ­because of prior commitments, but I am sure they will reconsider when they hear good things about the inaugural ­edition," the official said.

Each team, comprising four foreign players, six Indians and one upcoming Indian junior, played in a double-leg ­preliminary round, with the top four qualifying for the semifinals.

All ties consisted of five matches - two men's singles, and one match each in women's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.

To quicken the pace, the standard two-point gap to win a game was abandoned in favor of a race to 21 points for the first two games and 11 points for the decider, if needed.

AFP - Global Times