How Kabaddi Became The Second Most Popular Sport In India?
A rural rustic sport that treated the audience with thrill, excitement, and uncertainty.
Table of Contents
· About Kabaddi
· The Downfall of Kabaddi
· The Phoenix Moment of Kabaddi
· How Did The Tables Turn?
· Leaving Other Leagues Behind
· Impact on Players
· Conclusion
When the British ruled India, they introduced a sport, cricket. We picked up cricket where the British left it after independence.
Nowadays, people in India treat cricket as a religion, thanks to some memorable moments it has brought to the whole country.
But before cricket came into the picture, there was another sport that was played in the villages of India.
Kabaddi.
Yes, you read that right.
Kabaddi has always been a popular sport in rural India, owing to its deep cultural roots with Indian culture.
But it failed to appeal to the urban population of the country.
In this blog, I will take you through the downfall and re-emergence of kabaddi.
About Kabaddi
Kabaddi is an ancient sport. The sport finds its mention in the Mahabharata.
The name "Kabaddi" might have originated from the Tamil word “Kai-pidi” meaning “to hold hands”.
The sport also existed in other parts of India with different names.
In western India, it was known as Hu-Tu-Tu, in eastern India, it was known as Ha-Do-Do, and in southern India, it was known as Chedugudu.
Kabaddi is a contact sport. It was played on dusty soil grounds, and now it is played on mat surface courts between 2 teams consisting of 7 players each.
Now, I won’t go into the details of how the sport is played. Just tune in to your TV and watch it by yourself.
The popularity of the kabaddi you see now was not the case a few years ago. It had lost its shine to other sports.
This was the period when Kabaddi went through a downfall.
The Downfall of Kabaddi
Kabaddi was first introduced to the global audience before the 1936 Berlin Olympics as an exhibition game.
But, in the pre-and post-independence eras, hockey was widely followed and the teams brought laurels to the country.
Kabaddi’s popularity started to fade away after India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup triumph. The sport was overshadowed first by hockey and then by cricket on the nationwide stage.
As cricket got more exposure, many youngsters picked up bat and ball. Money started to flow into cricket.
With more exposure and money, cricket became a year-round game with more matches being played.
Kabaddi was now limited to rural India.
As time passed, the condition became worse. The reach of the sport had decreased in urban cities and towns.
Despite winning World Cups and 7 Asian Games gold medals between 1990 and 2014, few sports fans could identify any Kabaddi players.
But the sport that was the reason behind the downfall of kabaddi came to its rescue.
The Phoenix Moment of Kabaddi
In 2008, Indian fans were introduced to the Indian Premier League (IPL). The IPL fueled the popularity of cricket in every corner of the country.
The shortest format of cricket garnered more views, money, and popularity amongst fans.
But the IPL’s arrival also opened opportunities for other sports in India. Within a few years, many professional sports leagues emerged in India.
And in all those leagues came the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The league has helped Kabaddi rise from the ashes.
The promoter of the PKL, Mashal Sports, launched the league in 2014. The league followed a franchise-based model similar to the IPL.
Charu Sharma is the brainchild behind the PKL. Charu Sharma co-founded Mashal Sports with Anand Mahindra in 1994.
The idea of the kabaddi league first came up in 2010, when Deoraj Chaturvedi, an official from the Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF), met commentator Charu Sharma at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
During 2012 and 2013, they visited national-level events and saw large crowds everywhere. They realised that the sport could attract the audience to the stadiums.
PKL got backing from the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), and the Asian Kabaddi Federation.
But finding a broadcaster was the most critical task. They approached several sports channels, but they were reluctant to broadcast the league.
Finally, despite some concerns, Star Sports came on board.
How Did The Tables Turn?
The league started with 8 teams, and now it consists of 12 teams representing 12 cities/states from India.
All those 12 teams are owned by big enterprises and celebrities, which helped promote the league in every corner of the country.
PKL promoted by Mashal Sports, and Star Network organised the league in state-of-the-art indoor stadiums.
They replaced dusty soil grounds with coloured mat surface courts. They created a world-class experience by introducing thrilling music, lighting, and high-quality broadcast.
The games were quick, lasted for 40 minutes, and were broadcasted during prime-time television slots.
To increase the thrill of the match, PKL introduced a couple of new rules that included super-tackle and a do-or-die raid.
Super-Tackle: When three or fewer defenders tackle a raider, the defending team is awarded 2 points.
Do-or-Die Raid: If a team fails to score raid points in two consecutive raids, the team has to score a point in the third raid. If they fail to do so, the opponent team earns a point.
Sometimes I think I could tackle the problems from my life just like these defenders tackle their opponents. 😅
Jokes apart, one of the best things about PKL is that every 30 seconds brings thrill, joy, and uncertainty. With a game duration of 40 minutes, the sport decides the winner and loser within an hour.
Sports that have longer playing times experience poor viewership. And this worked in Kabaddi's favour, giving it a significant advantage over other sports.
And this has also helped increase the popularity of kabaddi on the global stage.
Leaving Other Leagues Behind
The first season in 2014 was viewed by 435 million viewers, second only to the IPL’s 532 million viewers.
This made kabaddi the second most popular sport after cricket, beating football and hockey in India.
No one would have imagined that a sport that Indians had the least interest in could beat football and hockey and inch closer to cricket in terms of TV viewership.
After PKL’s massive success, in 2015, Star Sports acquired 74% stakes in Mashal Sports. In addition, the entity was renamed “Mashal Sports Pvt. Ltd Star India.”
From 2016 to 2017, TV viewership increased by almost 100 million.
Though the sport is traditionally played in Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, and some parts of Rajasthan, when it comes to viewers, the southern states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu have impressive numbers.
This increasing popularity compelled Star Sports to broadcast the league in Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil as well.
In 2017, PKL got its first title sponsor, Vivo, a Chinese smartphone company. They signed a Rs. 300 crore sponsorship deal, the second-highest sponsorship deal after the IPL title sponsor.
As a result, the prize money increased by 300%, from Rs. 2 crores to Rs. 8 crores.
From zero major sponsors involved with the league in its inaugural season to over 70 brands associated with the league and the franchises, the PKL has proved its mettle.
Impact on Players
The introduction of the Future Kabaddi Heroes Program has led to scouts finding stars from shadows. As a result, 4 new teams were introduced in season 5.
Players are getting recognition and have witnessed an improvement in their finances since the PKL began.
Pawan Sehrawat, a 23-year-old raider, got the highest-ever bid of Rs. 2.26 crores from Tamil Thalaivas in the 2022 PKL auction.
And PKL not only helped Indian players but also helped international players.
Watch it for yourself:
In foreign players, Iran dominates with the most players, followed by Bangladesh, South Korea, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
In the 2018 Asian Games, Iran bagged the gold medal and South Korea bagged the silver medal, all thanks to more exposure given by PKL.
Players have sharpened their game skills and are more focused on their fitness to give their best.
PKL also held a standalone Women’s Kabaddi Challenge during the 2016 season, featuring 3 teams. They had plans to start a full-fledged league, but the women’s professional league has been put on hold due to some reasons. (I hope they start a dedicated women’s league.)
Conclusion
In 2008, the IPL changed the face of Indian sports.
Every sport in the country has attempted or will attempt to have a franchise-based league in the years to come. Some leagues will fail, and some leagues will shine.
PKL banked on the wide-spread knowledge of the game to make it more thrilling and unpredictable, a scope that football, tennis, or badminton lack.
PKL was instrumental in restoring Kabaddi's lost glory. Many are considering kabaddi as their full-time career, just like cricket promised a few years ago.
And I am hopeful that we will have a dedicated women’s kabaddi league soon.
Now, all we can hope for is that the IKF hosts more World Cups, kabaddi makes its Olympic debut, and our team adds another medal to its tally.
That’s it from my side. Now I'm going to listen to Mantra scream, "Line drawn, Game on, Khellll Kabaddiiii”.
