Anupam basks in PKL's Super 10

CHENNAI: It’s 2014. Yes you read that right and that’s not a faux pax nor are your bleary eyes deceiving you after staying up all night, feeling like one incurable insomniac, as yet another year welcomes a new dawn. We may have just ushered in 2024 but a sporting revolution happened in India a decade ago and, for once, it wasn’t connected to cricket. Can you hazard a guess as to what its identity was?

There were doubts galore and no dearth of naysayers when Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) was launched in 2014 in a characteristically low-key affair, perfectly in keeping with its status at the time on the pecking order. Ten years on, having remarkably overcome all its birth pangs and teething troubles with flying colours, acrobatic raids and airborne tackles, cheered lustily by packed gatherings everywhere, the moniker ‘rustic sport’ that we unknowingly and erroneously attached to it for several decades, relegating it to the country’s backwaters, has now firmly entrenched itself in India’s mainstream sporting milieu. The last 10 years witnessed kabaddi’s rise at breakneck speed, ensconcing itself as the second-most watched league in the country, during the course of which a plethora of other leagues came into being only to vanish into thin air just as quickly. Not surprisingly then, there is a glow of unmistakable pride on Anupam Goswami’s mien, Head – Sports Leagues, Mashal Sports and League Commissioner, Pro Kabaddi League, when he says, “PKL has helped kabaddi players take pride in saying we pursue the sport as a career option. It has made them aspirational.”

During the hour-long conversation, we lose count of the number of times Anupam speaks ardently about fans’ interests taking precedence on his watch and how it’s his fervent desire to see the current franchise model in India, across various sports, transforming into ‘club’ culture à la some of the established leagues in Europe and North America. No further evidence of the undying passion Anupam has for kabaddi is required, seeing that he is ever-present at all the venues, constantly interacting with his team about making the arrangements better for all stakeholders and encouraging players in a truly avuncular manner after their heroics on the mat.

Excerpts from a wide-ranging interview:

What has impressed you so far this season?

The most impressive thing is the rise of players from other regions. In season one of PKL 52 per cent of the players were from Haryana. Today, it looks a Haryanvi game but 20 years ago Haryana wasn’t a top performing team. Players would come from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu combined with the fact that the Railways were recruiting mostly from these three states. What we are witnessing this season is the emergence of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu players as the stars. The rise of players from those two states gives us confidence and I would love to see players from Jammu and Kashmir and the North East in the years to come.

Would you like to see other countries forming their own leagues?

I will be very interested in the international expansion of the sport and of the league. If you are going to continue growing the sport of kabaddi across the world then PKL has to continue growing too. Understanding and anticipating what the next generation of fan wants is absolutely vital. Sport doesn’t exist without fans and you will have to think of them relentlessly. Any league has to promise to its fans that we are the best in the world. Only then will it really work. We welcome other kabaddi leagues as long as they generate the best quality of sport and competition and that’s the only caveat we have. All leagues should be able to appeal to their fans.

Is having more international matches on your agenda?

The biggest audience and viewership for kabaddi comes from India. There should definitely be more international and bilateral tournaments but they will need to be organized in India keeping the viewership aspect in mind. We would really welcome if three more countries emerge as powerhouses of the sport and generators of great talent. That would make the sport even more competitive. Indians will of course look at kabaddi happening anywhere.

Are there any expansion plans in the offing or do you think the market has reached saturation point?

There are two questions. I can definitely say that we have not reached saturation point because how do you define saturation point? When I come out to sell new teams will there be any buyers? Definitely there will be if you look at all the people looking to invest in sports leagues in India. Franchise owners regularly talk about having a stake in a kabaddi team. By the way we did not sell the Tamil Thalaivas franchise to the highest bidder. We sold it to the person we thought would be a very good owner. If you recall, Sachin Tendulkar was also a part of the consortium that had bid for Thalaivas. The quality of the owners is very important for me. As for expansion, we aren’t thinking on those lines at present. We were the first league to expand from 8 to 12 teams. We are the biggest league for the number of matches in the league stages and we didn’t allow one match to be cut when we held the league in the bubble in Season 8. All 132 matches were held. Currently we are satisfied with where we are but we know that if we go out in the market we will find ‘solid’ buyers.

What did you make of the crowd response in Chennai?

It has been magnificent. If you look at the top tier stands they are filled to capacity. There are two factors: they are rooting for the home team. Whenever Thalaivas are in action, the decibel levels reach a crescendo. The other thing they are rooting for are Tamil players belonging to different teams. And that’s not a surprise as Tamil Nadu is one of the biggest catchment areas for grassroots kabaddi and the game is extremely popular here. There are movies made frequently here where the protagonist plays kabaddi. When we expanded in 2017, we were clear that Tamil Nadu was going to respond very well. In fact we knew even before there was a team from TN that the league was being received well.

What are the challenges going forward?

The interesting process over the next 10 years will be how these franchises become genuine sporting clubs like some of those established leagues in the American and European market. That applies for every league in the country. Having completed 10 seasons gives us an advantage because from Season 11 to 20 we can try to have that growth. Our idea is to get it from Season 11 to 16. That would be a great achievement for the league. I want some of our teams which are currently called franchises to convert into clubs. The reason for PKL’s success is we think ahead of others keeping in mind the significance of fan involvement and that is at the forefront of our thought process.