10th season is an important milestone, but there is more to come from Pro Kabaddi: Charu

CHENNAI: The Pro Kabaddi League founder and technical committee member Charu Sharma said that a lot of factors have contributed to the event’s massive success. With Pro Kabaddi preparing for the landmark 10th edition that is set to begin later this year, Charu, in a virtual interaction with DT Next on Friday, talked about where it all began, the rise of the League, plans for the “celebratory” season and more.

EXCERPTS FROM A DT NEXT INTERVIEW

At the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 player auction press conference in Mumbai in 2018, you spoke about how a local event in Coimbatore gave you an idea of the sport’s popularity in the country. How much confidence did the huge fan turnout give you?

It is an important story. When I was going around and trying to convince people to get into the world of kabaddi, there were many long stories. I did tell people: “You do not know how powerful the sport is.” While there are many fans inside the arena, however big it is, there are as many fans outside. Some people were like: “You and your stories about every kabaddi arena being full. How many people will pay to watch kabaddi?” I did not know [at that time] because I certainly had not paid to watch kabaddi. I said: “Yeah, that is an important point.” That is when this Coimbatore event became very important. I heard about it because I was not there myself.

People in the kabaddi fraternity told me: “Hey listen, do not worry. Fans are ready to pay to watch kabaddi in case there is ticketing. There was a recent event in Coimbatore (in 2012 or 2013) where fans paid up to Rs 500 for a seat at a major kabaddi festival.” That was such a relief for me, to be able to quote that. That event was slightly a watershed moment... in terms of knowing and learning that kabaddi events [in the country] are ticketed. It was a major step forward.

Pro Kabaddi’s inaugural edition was hosted in 2014. We are now heading into the 10th season. How has the League evolved over the years?

For starters, I have to use the word ‘patience’. Yes, it is the 10th season now and it is a very important figure. It is a very important milestone. Let us not forget that some of the major events around the world are 100 years old or more. We, first of all, need to exercise patience because this league needs to keep showing rapid progress year after year. It is sometimes self-defeating because we put ourselves under too much pressure to do more, be bigger and better. Sustainability is an important term.

The Pro Kabaddi League... having sustained itself now year after year despite all sorts of ups and downs. Now, being in the 10th season is a major victory in itself. Thanks to the contribution of many, the PKL has sustained. That is a very important aspect. Since we are still a very young league, there are minor bits of adjustments, amendments and changes [that can be done] to try and find some sort of ideal area. In terms of even length. The first time, we were [hosting it] for just over a month... in one year (2016), we had two seasons just to be able to offer more. We then went for three months. That got reduced sometimes because of COVID-19. There have been a lot of adjustments because of the environment, the universe of kabaddi. Where would we settle eventually? We do not know yet. We are still adjusting, ‘experimenting’ is not the right word to use. What is in our control are governance, ethics, event management and the rest of the things that we can do. We have paid great attention to those and done extremely well there. Eventually, we need to make sure that we run a strong, clean and well-governed event.

None of the 12 existing franchises have undergone ownership changes. How heartening is it to see all of them stay in the Pro Kabaddi family?

The big, strong pillars of a league will always have to be the franchises that are running the teams. To have zero change there, in terms of ownership, is incredible. That is a major testament to the fact that we are doing plenty of things right. Not everything, let us be modest, but we are doing plenty of things right. Those who joined us initially basically took a leap of faith, following what we were offering without real knowledge about what was going on. To then become strong supporters and leaders to take kabaddi forward, is very important. The four franchises who joined us later (2017) are also very strong. We are glad that all of them are in for the long haul; they understand that we have to build, develop and take the sport forward. One of the reasons why I think our franchises have stayed on... I think that our commercials are very appropriate, they are not high or low but appropriate. The box is sustainable.

The eagerly awaited 10th edition of the PKL is only a few months away. What new can the fans expect from the upcoming season?

Celebration is very important; we have reached our 10th season. All of us need to understand and rejoice at the fact that we have been sustainable at a strong level. Once in four years, we have a headache. We have a problem in the Asian Games years. This year, the Asian Games, which was initially postponed, is scheduled for September-October in Hangzhou. Our normal season runs from July to September or early October. That gets shaken up in an Asian Games year. So, we are forced to change dates, that is why we are planning to start late November or early December. What do we expect from the season? I think that the celebrations will start a lot earlier. There is the auction as well. We like the old caravan style. We hope to get back to all 12 locations, which is not easy to manage. We want to get there as soon as possible again.

You touched upon the auction, so do you believe that there is another model to distribute the players among the franchises?

The whole business of [player] auction is for the unsaturated leagues. I do hope that it will become possible for the PKL to actually have a mature retention of players, trading of players, like other leagues around the world. There can be methods of including something like a draft. I do not know when they could be possible. We are trying to find the most practical way forward. The auction remains very important now. The lower half [in the previous edition’s table] always want a churn because they want to do well. The teams in the upper half are not too happy while letting players go and want to hang on to the bulk of the players. We will try to find that balance eventually.

There is a feeling among many that Pro Kabaddi can do more to popularise the sport globally, given the following it has in India. Do you agree?

The PKL is not just for India; it is for the world of kabaddi. Personally, my effort has always been to take it (kabaddi) to other countries. It is about being patient and taking it to more nations. That is the next step forward for sure. The PKL is strong and sustainable. I am sure that more time and attention will be allotted to make kabaddi popular. We have to go out now, send coaches to other nations and make the sport happen. It is easier said than done as it requires a lot of sustained effort. But it will happen; we need to be patient. We spent a lot of energy to ensure the PKL became strong. Hopefully now, we start looking outside. Has enough been done? Not yet. But please be kind to us and understand that we wanted the core, the PKL, to become strong and sustainable.