Vietnam’s leading badminton player, Nguyen Tien Minh, number 9 in the world, will earn at least US$25,000 for playing in the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL), scheduled to take place over 19 days this August.

The IBL, to be organized from August 14-31 across six cities in India, features the participation of six clubs, including the Hyderabad Hotshots, Rajdhani Smashers (Delhi), Mumbai Masters, Karnataka Kings (Bangalore), Pune Vijetas, and Lucknow Warriors.

Boasted as one of the richest prize money badminton event in the world, the IBL has a cash purse of millions of US dollars.

By law, each IBL club is authorized to hire two foreign players, who have to register with the organization board of the league. The foreigners can only go to clubs following an auction held by the organizers. Clubs offering the highest salary will get their desired players.

The salary range for foreign players is as follows: a player in the top five will be paid $50,000, $25,000 for a player ranked from 6th to 12th, and $20,000 for a player from 13th to 20th.

Tien Minh has recently signed a three-year sponsorship contract with Kawasaki, starting this month, for an unknown sum of money; and a one-year deal with Vietnam-based Becamex. Minh will get VND50 million ($2,400) a month from Becamex if he stays in the global top 10, VND25 million if ranked from 11th-20th, and VND20 million for the top 20.