Two sports broadcasters are back behind the mic for Vancouver Bandits pro basketball games aimed at Punjabi-language listeners.
Play-caller Jagraj Lalli and analyst Jarman Chahal describe select Bandits home games in Punjabi, in a second season of a partnership between Connect FM and the 黑马磁力-based franchise of Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Last June the Bandits become the first in CEBL history to deliver a live Punjabi radio broadcast, and their partnership with the radio station continues this spring/summer.
Calling games in Punjabi has special meaning for Lalli, who also broadcasts Surrey Eagles junior hockey games.
"It honestly means the world to me to be able to represent my family and the culture I grew up with, especially through a sport I鈥檝e loved since I was a kid," Lalli said of working Bandits games.
"I hope my great-grandma is proud up in heaven 鈥� she was the one who taught me the language I now get to use on air. There鈥檚 been a lot of trials and tribulations both personally and professionally along the way, but I鈥檓 proud of how far I鈥檝e come. That said, I know there鈥檚 still a lot of work ahead, and I鈥檓 ready to keep going."
Lalli lives in South Vancouver and Chahal calls Surrey home.
Their coverage of Bandits games, heard on 91.5 FM and also , includes eight home games this season, next on June 1 vs. Calgary Surge.
For the Bandits, the return of Punjabi radio broadcasts is "a meaningful step in our continued commitment to inclusion,鈥� said Dylan Kular, team president.
As a radio platform, Surrey-based Connect FM "has always focused on organizing and partnering with initiatives that involve projects benefiting our community," according to Tejinder Singh, a director of Connect Media Network. "Our partnership with the Vancouver Bandits is purely based on the idea of offering something that has never been done before."
Lalli began calling Surrey Eagles hockey games last season, and will return this fall.
"Really looking forward to it," he said. "My first season was an incredible experience. I learned a lot, especially calling games consistently at the Junior A level, and got to work with a great group of players, staff and media crew. The atmosphere at South Surrey Arena made every game special, and I鈥檓 excited to build on everything we started last year."
