BENGALURU: In south India, where cricket and badminton rule the roost, kabaddi is slowly finding its feet. Thanks to the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), the sport, which has mostly been popular in north India, is now gaining increased TV viewership in the region as well. Telangana leads the way with a 32 per cent increase in viewership, while Karnataka stands second in the south with 12 per cent.
In Bengaluru, despite the city team – Bengaluru Bulls – playing away from home due to unavailability of Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, the fan base (TV audience for Bulls matches) saw a 13 per cent growth. With them winning the PKL title last term, it is going to boost popularity among Bengalureans.
Besides their success, a lot of credit goes to PKL for promoting young talent through its Future Kabaddi Heroes (FKH) programme. A total of 230 players turned up for trials in the last edition of FKH in Bengaluru. “Earlier, we (the coaches) had to find players and pull them out of their houses to play kabaddi.
Now, interest among junior players has increased. Also, with kabaddi being played more in schools and at the state level, it has helped the growth,” said B C Ramesh, former Karnataka player who won Asian Games gold medal in 2002. He is now the coach of Bengal Warriors.
At present, six Karnataka players are part of different franchises in the PKL and the number of players over the last five editions has only increased. With Indo-International Premier Kabaddi League also having made its debut this season, the presence of players from the state has received a boost. In the IPKL (league organised by DSport and New Kabaddi Federation), 17 Karnataka players are competing for seven franchises. “Two leagues are beneficial as a larger pool of players can now be seen. Those who didn’t get selected in one of the kabaddi leagues can look at IPKL as an avenue,” said Arumugam, raider of Bengaluru Rhinos in the IPKL.
The other aspect that has aided the growth is its cost-effectiveness. With no equipment needed to play it, players from smaller areas too, have made it to the lucrative leagues. This time, as the IPKL will be played in Mysuru and Bengaluru, Arumugam believes it will help the sport grow in the state even further. “The credit goes to the sports culture of the state as well. There is hardly any sport, which doesn’t have a fan following here,” he said.