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Million dollar opportunity
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Pitch a baseball at great speed and you could win a million dollars
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PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO
FORTUNE, JUST A THROW AWAY At the TMDA contest
One million dollars might just be a throw away. Hurling a baseball at the mannequins of a batter and a keeper in a baseball cage, anyone can take a shot at this fortune. The aim of this all-India contest: Finding someone with a powerful arm to throw
a baseball at great speed. Later, the man with the ‘strongest arm’ will receive a year’s training in pitching skills from American professional baseball teams.
“Right now, we are looking only at speed. The winner can be taught the other essentials of pitching,” says Vaibhav Bassi of PDM International which, along with 7 Figures Management and Zee Sports, has launched this unusual talent hunt, called ‘The Million Dollar Arm’ (TMDA).
PDM International and 7 Figures Management, both sports management companies with an international presence, chose India because the nation is addicted to cricket and “bowling is not distant from pitching”. The contest is held at public grounds where multiple cricket matches (mostly with tennis balls) are in progress. TMDA is also made known to those pursuing javelin, shotput and other sports that require a strong arm.
The Chennai leg of TMDA was held last weekend at the YMCA Grounds (Nandanam), Kozhi Pannai Ground (Adyar) and the Corporation Ground (Gopalapuram). Over a thousand participated in the contest. Four hours before close on the last day, the fastest throw in Chennai was 81 miles per hour. Goa and Mumbai are at the top of the table at 94 mph and 92 mph. Other cities covered by TMDA are: Delhi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kolkata, Cuttack, Indore, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Bassi says TMDA is marked by simplicity of rules. “Anyone can walk on to the ground and test his arm with three throws. He does not have to register or pay up for the contest. If someone throws at an impressive speed, we will take down his name and contact details.” There are a few requirements, though – the participant has to be a male, an Indian citizen and belong to the 15-25 age group.
Those chosen in the preliminary rounds will be trained in pitching techniques for the qualifiers, slated for the first week of February in the major metros. During the qualifiers, each contestant has to throw at a minimum speed of 80mph. The Mega Final has been scheduled for the second half of March. A finalist will get to throw the baseball ten times.
The fastest of them, who also has a minimum speed of 90 + mph, gets prize money to the tune of $100,000. The winner can then go for the ‘coveted figure’ - one million dollars, which will be his if he makes three consecutive 95+ mph strikes. Whether he wins the million dollars or not, he is definitely headed for a professional baseball career after a year’s training in the U.S.
For more details, log on to themilliondollararm.com.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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