Does Kabaddi have the potential to be the second sport in India/Subcontinent or go global?

[OneTip-OneHand]

What do you guys think about Kabaddi being popular in India or the neighbouring countries. Of course cricket will the number 1 sport being played or in terms of popularity and viewership.

Subcontinent has very few or non existence in other sports. In India Football enjoys popularity in few pockets like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala etc. The less is said about hockey, the better. Its dying despite having odd success. Recently Badminton has gained some popularity and many new players have come up the scene. Paes and Bhupati got us some glory in tennis but thats in doubles which doesn't have the same glamour as Singles. We are nowhere in sports like Athletics or Swimming etc neither do we have cultural, facilities or the motivation to go for these sports as career in kids or their parents.
Chess and snooker aren't mass sports and enjoyed by very limited audience.

Virtually nobody/ very limited audience watches above mentioned sports live in India. At most we just check the scores or the results.

From what i have observed in last couple of years, Kabaddi has gained a lot of popularity in India since the launch of Pro Kabaddi League where they have introduced a new set of rules* different from traditional Kabaddi. After IPL we have seen a trend of leagues of different sports i.e. Hockey, Football, Badminton, Tennis, Kushti etc. But only kabaddi has got a decent viewership apart from IPL.

Suddenly Narwals, Chhilars etc have become super star and even started getting tv ads etc.

So what is in the favour of Kabaddi?

1. We get a result in 60 minutes despite having breaks and timeouts.

2. Desi sport which people can relate. Kids in villages still play kabaddi.

3. Virtually no investment in kits etc. Get a pair of shoes and you are good to go.

4. A sport which really requires Fitness, Endurance and athleticism makes it very close to Track and Field sports.

5. Action filled 60 minutes which rarely has any dull moment so very less scope of boredom. If you start watching it, you won't want to miss a single raid. Trust me on that.


Kabaddi has got some base in countries like South Korea and Iran because most of foreign players in PKL are from these 2 countries and they are really good at business.

With T20 leagues being monotonous and boring bilaterals such as India-SL which nobody care about, What are the chances of Kabaddi being the alternate source of sporting entertainment?

For reference you can watch the highlights of Final of PKL 2017 which was played between Gujarat Fortune Giants( yeah i know the name sucks) and Patna Pirates yesterday. You'd surely like the thrill and entertainment what I'm talking about.

 

[OneTip-OneHand]

For those who are interested in the rules of Pro Kabaddi-

1. Each game is of 40 minutes, divided into 2 halves of 20 minute each.

2. Teams consist of 7 players with different combinations of raiders, defenders and allrounders as per their game plan.

3. Each team has to do raids one after another which lasts for 30 seconds and you can't lose your breath during the raid otherwise you lose the point and go to the bench.

4. Raider's goal is to touch the players (1 or as many as possible) from the opposite team. Defending team tries to pin down the raider before he goes back to his half. For each successful touch point raider gets his team 1 point whereas 1 point is awarded for successful defence. After unsuccessful raid or defending attempts respective players goes out of the court and can be revived in the same sequence after successful raid or defense.

5. Raider can do empty raids but every 3rd consecutive empty raid becomes do or die raid where he has to get the point or he goes out.

6. There is one more line near end line which remains active if there are 6 or 7 players are there on the court. Raider can score bonus point from that line.

7. All out gets you 3 points and all players come back in the court and game goes on.

8. Teams have reviews, timeouts, substitution options with them.

I think i have covered everything in nutshell.

 

[Yossarian]

So what is in the favour of Kabaddi?

1. We get a result in 60 minutes despite having breaks and timeouts.

2. Desi sport which people can relate. Kids in villages still play kabaddi.

3. Virtually no investment in kits etc. Get a pair of shoes and you are good to go.

4. A sport which really requires Fitness, Endurance and athleticism makes it very close to Track and Field sports.

5. Action filled 60 minutes which rarely has any dull moment so very less scope of boredom. If you start watching it, you won't want to miss a single raid. Trust me on that.


Kabaddi has got some base in countries like South Korea and Iran because most of foreign players in PKL are from these 2 countries and they are really good at business.

What about Gilli-Danda? Fulfills most of the criteria listed above.

 

[ExpressPacer]

The fact that its played in mud and possibly looked down upon in Pakistan as a sport for the poor, I don't see it becoming popular anytime soon. I know I wouldn't like to rub alongside a half naked man's body.

 

[big_gamer007]

Nah kabaddi can never be a mainstream sport in India.. Ours is a followers society where we would follow what the west does and try and imitate them rather than focus on our roots and try and take them to a global level.. So in short sports like Football, tennis, badminton, Basketball etc would always be more predominant in India than kabaddi..
[MENTION=136588]CricketCartoons[/MENTION] this thread needs your expert comment so that it can be shut down..

 

[Abdul]

It isn't for the weak/pansies.

 

[kaayal]

Pro Kabbadi league in India is actually fun. My family watch that a lot now.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Oval field Kabaddi, yes? I believe so. It's quite entertaining.

 

[DRsohail]

definitely in india and pakistan.

 

[Sidilicious]

Nah kabaddi can never be a mainstream sport in India.. Ours is a followers society where we would follow what the west does and try and imitate them rather than focus on our roots and try and take them to a global level.. So in short sports like Football, tennis, badminton, Basketball etc would always be more predominant in India than kabaddi..
[MENTION=136588]CricketCartoons[/MENTION] this thread needs your expert comment so that it can be shut down..

hasnt the kabaddi league really kicked off in india

 

[humzy]

It feels like a game of the "old world", things are changing rapidly and old world things get left behind quickly. MMA is where its at now .

 

[JaDed]

Its already among top 3 sports in India,for everyone who needs an idea ,its below,my home team facing Telugu ones.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Its already among top 3 sports in India,for everyone who needs an idea ,its below,my home team facing Telugu ones.

Indoor Kabaddi is lame man. One on one battles are far more entertaining.

 

[CanadianG00se]

The fact that its played in mud and possibly looked down upon in Pakistan as a sport for the poor, I don't see it becoming popular anytime soon. I know I wouldn't like to rub alongside a half naked man's body.

I think you dont know much about Pro Kabaddi league if you think its payed in red soil/mud. It has proper synthetic turf similar to one used for other sports.

 

[big_gamer007]

hasnt the kabaddi league really kicked off in india

Yea but isn't it played just for 4-6 weeks? Rest of the time no one cares or knows of any other kabaddi tournament right? To become the second most watched/played sport in India you need a year long league or international matches which unfortunately kabaddi does not offer..

 

[JaDed]

Indoor Kabaddi is lame man. One on one battles are far more entertaining.

That's almost like Khushti which is already there in Haryana,should be differentiation between team and individual sport.

 

[JaDed]

Yea but isn't it played just for 4-6 weeks? Rest of the time no one cares or knows of any other kabaddi tournament right? To become the second most watched/played sport in India you need a year long league or international matches which unfortunately kabaddi does not offer..

Its played twice a year though.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

That's almost like Khushti which is already there in Haryana,should be differentiation between team and individual sport.

I'm talking about Oval Kabaddi.

 

[ExpressPacer]

I think you dont know much about Pro Kabaddi league if you think its payed in red soil/mud. It has proper synthetic turf similar to one used for other sports.

Just saw it. Was thinking about the traditional Kabaddi.

 

[SandyB]

Say what you may, but the league has surely sparked interest even in non Kabaddi stronghold states here. You find a lot of people tuning into it these days, casual viewing mostly .

I see it as the 2nd best IPL like league in India, as far as making the sport popular is concerned. The ISL (Soccer) though much bigger hasn't really grown the game outside the traditional strongholds (Kerala, Goa, North East, Bengal and a few big cities ) , while Pro Kabaddi has actually achieved it.

 

[Rafa]

No thanks it's a very paindu and boring sport.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

No thanks it's a very paindu and boring sport.

All sports started out paindu.

 

[Varun]

Its already among top 3 sports in India,for everyone who needs an idea ,its below,my home team facing Telugu ones.

To be honest, being the 2nd or 3rd most popular in India is no big deal.

 

[big_gamer007]

Its played twice a year though.

Still I don't feel it has following throughout the year as football, tennis, badminton.. Kabaddi is played mostly in India and the second best team is Pakistan against who we don't play so the lack of big hyped up matches is also a reason..

How is kabaddi the 2nd most followed/popular sport in India? How did you get across that figure? You meant Pro kabaddi league is 2nd most watched league after IPL? If that's what you meant it doesn't mean kabaddi is the second most viewed sport as you need to count viewership of other sporting leagues like Football (Premier league, La liga etc).. Same it's other sports..

So no I don't think kabaddi is 2nd most popular sport it's probably not even in top 5 however pro kabaddi league might be 2nd most popular Indian domestic league

 

[CanadianG00se]

Still I don't feel it has following throughout the year as football, tennis, badminton.. Kabaddi is played mostly in India and the second best team is Pakistan against who we don't play so the lack of big hyped up matches is also a reason..

How is kabaddi the 2nd most followed/popular sport in India? How did you get across that figure? You meant Pro kabaddi league is 2nd most watched league after IPL? If that's what you meant it doesn't mean kabaddi is the second most viewed sport as you need to count viewership of other sporting leagues like Football (Premier league, La liga etc).. Same it's other sports..

So no I don't think kabaddi is 2nd most popular sport it's probably not even in top 5 however pro kabaddi league might be 2nd most popular Indian domestic league

What has LA Liga or EPL has anything to do with subject on hand? Did u even bothered reading OP?
He is mentioning an Indian sport (Kabbadi in this case) has the potential to dominate Indian sub continent. Secondly, apart from just some college 'Wannabe cool kids' no one gives rat *** about european soccer leagues. Kabaddi league has already surpassed the expectation and have more viewers than any other league except IPL in India. Not even ISL(home of retired players) come close to it.

 

[Syed1]

We have plenty of paindus in Pakistan so this sport should be popular

 

[big_gamer007]

What has LA Liga or EPL has anything to do with subject on hand? Did u even bothered reading OP?
He is mentioning an Indian sport (Kabbadi in this case) has the potential to dominate Indian sub continent. Secondly, apart from just some college 'Wannabe cool kids' no one gives rat *** about european soccer leagues. Kabaddi league has already surpassed the expectation and have more viewers than any other league except IPL in India. Not even ISL(home of retired players) come close to it.

Did you even bother reading the discussion going on? Why are you jumping in middle of a discussion without knowing what it is about?

The discussion is about kabaddi being 3rd most popular sport in India which it is not, kabaddi league might be popular but kabaddi as a sport still is not as popular as football, tennis or other sports.. Please spare me the 'wannabe college kids' kind of non sense posts, since you don't even live in India (apparently) why do you care who watches what? Now educate yourself first the difference between popularity of a sport and popularity of a league of one particular sport..

 

[OneTip-OneHand]

Did you even bother reading the discussion going on? Why are you jumping in middle of a discussion without knowing what it is about?

The discussion is about kabaddi being 3rd most popular sport in India which it is not, kabaddi league might be popular but kabaddi as a sport still is not as popular as football, tennis or other sports.. Please spare me the 'wannabe college kids' kind of non sense posts, since you don't even live in India (apparently) why do you care who watches what? Now educate yourself first the difference between popularity of a sport and popularity of a league of one particular sport..

Man did you even understand what i was trying to say in OP? First you mocked the thread and called for cricketcartoons for some expert comment so that it can be shut down. Now you're hell bent on your lame arguement that the league might be popular but the sports isnt.

League became popular because people are actually liking it and finding it exciting, arent they?

Secondly i dont know which part of country you live in but i can tell you my experience from Rajasthan and Gujarat. I work in Education Industry and keep on visiting the schools. I can actually see Kabaddi being played by kids in every other school even the likes of DPS.

Do you think Cricket became popular overnight? Whether Kabaddi is currently 2nd or 3rd popular sport or not but it defenitely has the potential.

P.S.- I find it hilarious that some posters didnt even bother to read the OP and started with their mud and half naked men etc remarks. FYI its about modernised version of Kabaddi.

 

[big_gamer007]

Man did you even understand what i was trying to say in OP? First you mocked the thread and called for cricketcartoons for some expert comment so that it can be shut down. Now you're hell bent on your lame arguement that the league might be popular but the sports isnt.

League became popular because people are actually liking it and finding it exciting, arent they?

Secondly i dont know which part of country you live in but i can tell you my experience from Rajasthan and Gujarat. I work in Education Industry and keep on visiting the schools. I can actually see Kabaddi being played by kids in every other school even the likes of DPS.

Do you think Cricket became popular overnight? Whether Kabaddi is currently 2nd or 3rd popular sport or not but it defenitely has the potential.

P.S.- I find it hilarious that some posters didnt even bother to read the OP and started with their mud and half naked men etc remarks. FYI its about modernised version of Kabaddi.

I read the OP and I responded to it in my first post.. I don't think kabaddi will ever be the second most popular sport in India as you claim to be in your OP, there are many reasons for that if you really don't know of the reasons and are interested in sensible debate I can list it for you here..

Regarding you quoting my second post it shows why such forums result in half baked discussions, my comments were about a post raised by someone saying kabaddi is third most popular sport in India I wanted the poster who said that to clarify how did he reach to that conclusion? Kabaddi league cannot be used as a measure to make that comment because it only runs twice a year and apart from kabaddi league no one watches kabaddi at all.. Whereas for other sports there Indian versions of league might not be popular however there global versions run throughout the year and people watch it so popularity is decided on viewership of Indians of a particular sport not by just the league..

I am not saying kabaddi is bad or anything it's a great sport and I am happy the league is successful however people like you just take posts out of context and try and start an argument about nothing..

To answer your OP in short do I think kabaddi can be 2nd most popular sport in India? NO..

 

[mummad]

Yea but isn't it played just for 4-6 weeks? Rest of the time no one cares or knows of any other kabaddi tournament right? To become the second most watched/played sport in India you need a year long league or international matches which unfortunately kabaddi does not offer..

This time its 13 Weeks.

 

[big_gamer007]

This time its 13 Weeks.

That's good step in the right direction..

 

[MenInG]

20th May 2022
*PUBLIC NOTICE*

Please be informed that, Pakistan Kabaddi Federation ("PKF") has been trying to perpetrate a fallacious and misleading propaganda through the Public Notice No. PKF/177/ Notification/ 2022 dated 19.05.2022 against Strawberry Sports Management in relation to the Traditional Kabaddi League.

At the outset, PKF in the absence of any constituent document and law is trying to assert that they have terminated the agreement with Strawberry Sports Management regarding Kabaddi leagues separate from the Traditional Kabaddi League. In actuality, PKF in order to shy away from performance of its obligation in those Kabaddi leagues, terminated the agreement to monopolize the sports of Kabaddi, and the determination on such matter is pending adjudication in the Court of Ms. Umbreen Iqbal Chaudhary, Learned Civil Judge 1st Class, Islamabad - West. Since the matter is sub judice, therefore, unlike PKF, Strawberry Sports Management is restraining itself to comment on the merits of the case. In the interest of justice and to provide useful information for all relevant stakeholders of sports in general and Kabaddi in particular, Strawberry Sports Management would be happy and keen to share the observations of the Honourable Courts at the appropriate time as and when the Order is issued by the Honourable Courts for the Kabaddi leagues other than the Traditional Kabaddi League.

The Public is further informed that neither any statement has been made by Strawberry Sports Management that the Traditional Kabaddi League has any relationship or contract with PKF nor has it been advertised that the Traditional Kabaddi League is in collaboration with PKF. Infact, PKF has no authority under any law to issue any public notice, as the same amounts to harassment, defamation and damaging the conduct of the Traditional Kabaddi League by Strawberry Sports Management through mis-use of the dominant position of PKF against which appropriate legal remedy will be availed before the competent forum.

Please be informed that PKF has no authority under any law for the time being in force to issue any statement or create any hurdle in the conduct of the Traditional Kabaddi League for the sport of Kabaddi, and therefore the Public Notice issued by PKF is merely a failed attempt to exploit and resort to rent seeking behaviour, which is highly deprecated and will be dealt with in accordance with law.