Sabi Hussain

Till a few years, the game of kabaddi remained mostly restricted to rural India. It did not catch the imagination of an average sports lover, who was more enamoured with cricket and its baby product Indian Premier League (IPL), and, to some extent, Olympic sports like hockey, wrestling and badminton.

Despite boasting of a rich 4,000 year history, kabaddi has largely remained on the fringes. The sport’s biggest stars — Anup Kumar, Ajay Thakur and Rakesh Kumar — would be hailed once in every four years whenever India returned with a gold medal from the Asian Games. Otherwise, it’s all about living in oblivion, both for the game and players.

However, this changed for good in 2014. The year when the fortune-changing Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL) was launched to extend a fresh lease of life to the sport, which had been on a ventilator in the absence of any marketing and broadcasting revolution. The PKL brought with it a bouquet of good news. The runaway success of the first season put kabaddi back on the collective consciousness of sports fans. The players received instant fame and recognition. PKL’s first season had a viewership of 430 million.

The success of PKL prompted the league promoters, Mashal Sports, to host two seasons in the 2016 calendar year. The PKL venues were packed, so were the couches at home. A win-win situation for the organisers, broadcasters, players, coaches and support staff.

The International Amateur Kabaddi Federation (IAKF) cashed-in on the success of the PKL and hosted third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup (standard style) in Ahmedabad this year. It was after a hiatus of nine years that the IAKF thought of organising the mega event, building on the popularity of the PKL.

The fortnight-long event featured 12 teams, including from the United States, Australia and England. The hosts, expectedly, defended their crown for the third time after scripting a come-from-behind victory over Iran 38-29 in the summit clash.

More recently, the Punjab Government organised the sixth BR Ambedkar World Cup Kabaddi (circle style) at Jalalabad in the Fazilka district. The tournament, which India have dominated since its inception in 2009, featured 11 international teams in the men’s event and eight in the women’s section.

As has been the case in previous years, Indian teams maintained their hold on the title, with the men annihilating England 62-20 and the women outclassing the USA 45-10.

The success of Indian teams on the home soil would only add to the growing popularity of the game and bring in more sponsors and corporates forward. The PKL already has celebrities from Bollywood and cricketing circle as the franchise owners and they have warmly welcomed the transition of kabaddi as a ragtag sport from the muddy courts and barefooted tussle to the more sophisticated, glitzy and glamorous world of neon-lighted arenas.

Add to it some innovative rule changes like “super tackle”, “do-or-die raid”, “super catch point” and “30-second rule” (where no raid can exceed 30 second), the aggressiveness and fastness of the game has kept the spectators and viewers hooked to their seats and sofas, respectively.

The Kabaddi World Cup (standard style) was played with these new rules, which are part of the PKL, unlike the Asian Games or other international competitions where all these rules are not applied. And this was one of the main reasons for the World Cup to become such a big hit among the Indian and global audience. “We have never thought that one day we would become household names,” says Haryana’s Anup, captain of the World Cup-winning team and two-time Asian Games gold medallist.

“We were living in oblivion and suddenly Pro-Kabaddi League happened to us. The success of PKL has put Indian kabaddi on the global map. People now know us, want to click selfie with us and demand our autographs. Crowds cheer us whenever they see us. We can proudly say that kabaddi is also a good career option with a handsome amount of money involved. There is a stable source of income for us. PKL has not only made us financially strong, but has also drastically improved our game,” adds Anup.

Raider Thakur, who played a crucial role in India lifting the World Cup by accumulating 12 points in the final against Iran, reveals that he would drive an auto-rickshaw as his family’s source of income was limited. But now, the 30-year-old from Nalagarh in Himachal Pradesh is a proud owner of an SUV.

“My father was a farmer, so our financial condition was not that good. My cousin played kabaddi for the Indian team. Inspired by his success, I too got hooked to the game. Initially, there was hardly any money involved. But things are different now. From playing in dusty fields to the glitzy arenas, it has been a fairytale journey for us. Hope, kabaddi’s success will inspire others to take up the game,” adds Thakur, who was adjudged the ‘top raider of the tournament’ with 68 points.