India is currently a land of sports leagues. Almost every sport has one to its name. But the interesting thing is that very few work. Or rather, very few are sustainable and have commercial traction. While the IPL is the mother of all leagues and is hugely successful, the surprise entrant at number two is the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), which, may I say, has consistently held its own over a decade of its existence. With yet another season about to reach the home stretch, it is clearly a story worth documenting.
Kabaddi has forever been a sport with deep roots in India. Each one of us played it while growing up. And yet the sport had little or no traction among the masses. Players weren’t respected or idolised and there was no money in the sport. Despite India winning multiple gold medals in Kabaddi at the Asian Games since 1990, little happened to the status of the sport in the country until Pro Kabaddi changed it all.
With the inception of the league, the sport became an aspirational tale. Talent, which was always there, was all of a sudden given opportunities to flourish, and players became stars overnight with the league being telecast at prime time on satellite television. Prime time telecast meant sponsors backed the league, and with the sport firmly rooted in a kind of Indianness, it was a homegrown property like no other. Money flowed in, and kabaddi players, who few would have known earlier, turned into icons overnight.
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But then, the novelty wears off after a point and that’s when the real challenge comes for a league. The IPL, for example, started as a heady mix of cricket and entertainment, but eventually sustained itself because it had a strong core. The cricket was of the highest standard and that’s what the audience comes to watch year in, year out. It was the very same for kabaddi. The standard of play was the best in the world, and the elite players needed to come to Pro Kabaddi to make a mark. It was the EPL of kabaddi and that’s what helped sustain the league. With quality play on offer, the league soon became the aspirational tale it had set out to be. Scores of youngsters took to the sport and the supply line, which is key to the survival of any sport, was robust and dynamic. New players would come up the ranks every single year and that’s where Pro Kabaddi was different to other leagues, which were struggling for survival.
Maninder Singh, captain of the Bengal Warriors, put it well. “There was always a huge fan following for kabaddi right from the first season,” he said. “However, the one big difference now is that young kids come and watch the game. Now, we see families coming together to watch the games in the stadium.”
Surinder Singh, U Mumba Captain, echoed similar sentiments. “The Pro Kabaddi League has brought a lot of changes in my life,” he said. “Earlier. no one used to recognise players, but now we are recognised by one and all, wherever we go. PKL has changed the lifestyles of many players and this league has taken the game of kabaddi to great heights.”
With the league stable and doing well, what comes next is the question? Will the sport push for inclusion in the Olympics at some point, and invest in a women’s league to ensure that there is equality in the sport? Knowing well that you can only make the Olympics if there is gender parity, is that the direction the sport will take in India? Needless to say, there are a huge number of young girls who play the sport who will all find a new lease of life if that happens. The WPL is a case in point how the launch of a women’s league can change things completely for a sport.
Anupam Goswami, league commissioner and one who has been associated with the property for years, helped put the vision in context. “We have taken it step by step,” he said. “First was to bring respectability and viability to the sport. We wanted to give homegrown talent a voice and, may I say, we have been able to do that. Second, we wanted to make the league the very best in the world in terms of standard. Again, we have been able to achieve that. Third, we needed to ensure the supply chain of talent is constant and the ecosystem of the sport is robust. That too is now achieved. Now we are determined to launch a women’s league and increase the scope and ambit of the sport and add new constituencies to the league. Of course we have Olympic ambitions, but the launch of the women’s league could be the first step.”
It is this emphasis on process that has given the league teeth and muscle. Without trying to be extravagant and focussing on glitz and glamour, Pro Kabaddi has focussed on solidity. And with the sport doing well, winning the Asian Games gold back from Iran is evidence, it can be said, that the future of kabaddi is bright in India.
The other thing that goes for the league is its mass connect. Unlike tennis or badminton, kabaddi is played in the interior of India and by the masses. Men and women, boys and girls, all play the sport and it is part of India’s sporting DNA. That’s what the league has successfully tapped into. Now the players are stars and it has made a huge difference to their positions in society. “You look at the women marrying the kabaddi stars,” said someone closely associated with the league, on condition of anonymity. “Look at their educational qualifications, and you will know what I mean. Earlier, women with degrees from top US universities wouldn’t want to be associated with kabaddi players, most of who don’t speak English well. Now, things are different. English doesn’t matter. The sport speaks, and they are eligible grooms.”
The truth is the league has changed the sport. And changed it for the better. Now you play kabaddi for a living and if you play well, you have the life of a celebrity. There is money and glamour and, most importantly, respect. Is the league perfect? No, not yet. A women’s league is a crying need, for only then can the sport aspire to make it to the Olympics at some point. And there is no better time to start, with India poised to make a bid for the 2036 Games.
Few, however, would want to doubt the future of the sport any more. True to its tagline – “Le Panga!”
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