Lucknow's BBD Academy to host the Ultimate Karate League from December 3 to 12

The Ultimate Karate League (UKL), which was earlier scheduled to be organised in Mumbai, has shifted its venue to the City of Nawabs, Lucknow. The league is now set to be held at Babu Banarasi Das Badminton Academy from December 3 to December 12. Reportedly, this top-tier tournament will also bag a daily two-hour screening time for all league matches, across several platforms round the globe.

3 sets of matches in 9 bouts to be completed in 45 minutes

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Lucknow has been moving progressively in the field of sports, with substantial government aid, commented the Chairman of Indian Professional Karate Council (IPKC), Sensei Rajeev Sinha. The city has surfaced as a renowned sports hub, which swayed the organisers to shift the event to Lucknow.

Unlike any other combat game, UKL has an exclusive format that pitches one player against a team of 3. Usually, these games have one-on-one fights, however, the new league has evolved the individual sport into a team game, added reports. Each participating team has 6 members, including 1 female and 5 male players.

The UKL consists of six franchise-based lineups, where each team has World Champions and European Champions as Marquee players. These teams are UP Rebels, Delhi Bravehearts, Mumbai Ninjas, Punjabi Fighters, Bengaluru Kings and Pune Samurai.

In a typical league game of this format, there are three sets of matches with 9 bouts each, which are completed in 45 minutes. The time frame is inclusive of slow-motion and commercial breaks. The final score is calculated by a combination of techniques and in the case of an equalizer, the female's individual match decides the final outcome.

Lucknow aims to get the hosting right of the 2024 World Championship

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Additionally, foreign players and dignitaries like senators and ministers of European countries will be a part of the audience to the UKL organised in Lucknow. With a successful run of the league in Lucknow, the city will make its way to earn the hosting right of the 2024 World Championship, claimed the World Body Director Petr Suja.

Sensei Rajeev Sinha, chairman of IPKC says, "The main purpose of establishing UKL was to trigger an aspirational-connect amongst the existing and future karate practitioners. It is noteworthy that there are over 4 crore practitioners of karate around the country who pay to learn and compete. With UKL in place, we expect a steep rise in its following in India."