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Tag: Pro Kabaddi League

  • Star Sports’ Pro Kabaddi League rakes in ratings

    Star Sports’ Pro Kabaddi League rakes in ratings

    MUMBAI: Introducing India and the world to an ancient Indian game of Kabaddi is Star Sports with its Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The eight city franchise based league that began on 26 July seems to have created quite a buzz around it.

    According to latest TAM data provided by the channel, the opening night received 22 million TV viewers, on both Star Sports and Star Gold. This data, when extrapolated to All India Universe, according to standard industry conversions, show that over 66 million Indians have watched the game, claims the channel.

    “This is 10 times higher than that witnessed in India during the opening match between Brazil and Croatia of the recently concluded FIFA World Cup which reached 2.1 million viewers (extrapolated 6.6 million viewers),” says the channel.

    On Twitter, Star says that it had generated such an extensive conversation line that it was trending for nearly two days. Within 12 hours of the commencement of the League, PKL had received nearly 140 million impressions on Twitter and a significant number on Facebook activity. This was driven by celebrities/owners of teams including Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar etc.

    The Kabaddi mania even spread to the Amul girl by her positive take on PKL. Over 90 per cent of the reactions regarding PKL were positive, says the broadcaster. Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, “We are very excited about Kabaddi but these are early days. At Star we believe in building content on a long term basis and our positions and moods don’t swing based on day one ratings! We strongly believe in the potential of Kabaddi and that is the reason we are working so hard to build it.”

     

  • Official jersey of Jaipur Pink Panthers kabaddi team unveiled by owner Abhishek Bachchan

    Official jersey of Jaipur Pink Panthers kabaddi team unveiled by owner Abhishek Bachchan

    NEW DELHI: Pro-Kabaddi League  (PKL) franchise Jaipur Pink Panthers’ official jersey has been unveiled by the team owner, actor Abhishek Bachchan in Mumbai.

    While the players of the Jaipur Pink Panthers were recently introduced to the Jaipur media, they were officially introduced to the audience in Mumbai.

    PKL flags off today across eight venues in India, starting with the Jaipur Pink Panthers v/s U Mumba at the NSCI Stadium in Mumbai.

    Bachchan spoke at length about his association with Kabaddi and the PKL. He said, “It’s a huge honor to be associated with the Pro-Kabaddi League and an even bigger honor to introduce to you the players of the Jaipur Pink Panthers. We have some amazing talent here today as the Jaipur Pink Panthers get ready to roar at the games”.

  • Pro Kabaddi League set for flag off tomorrow

    Pro Kabaddi League set for flag off tomorrow

    MUMBAI: They are a bunch of five well built and unruly boys. At first glance they will easily pass off as bullies. Lazing around near the school entrance they try to find a target and zero down on a small scrawny lad. Busy hugging a glass bottle filled with the choicest cookies, the lad is soon surrounded by the mini-thugs. Trying hard to sneak away, the poor boy mutters beneath his breath and in single leap jumps through the coterie of boys thanks to one of India's oldest sports – Kabaddi!  A booming voice then announces that life too is just like the desi game where winners are those who choose to go on, not giving up.

    This isn’t a short film but a TVC created ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The core thought of the campaign is ‘Jeet Te Hain Wahin Jo Haar Nahin Mantey’. Thanks to the initiative of corporate biggie Anand Mahindra, through his company Mashal Sports (he is the co promoter along with commentator and his brother in law Charu Sharma) and broadcaster Star Sports, the historic game is finally getting its due. The PKL has the patronage of the International Kabaddi Federation, Asian Kabaddi Federation and Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India.

     On Star’s association with the league, Star India head of sports business Nitin Kukreja says, “We are very excited with the league coming up. It is a game that is to be seen and experienced. We have a great on and off ground campaign that is taking place to promote the game. We will use the best production values for the game.”

    It had similarly taken up the challenge of promoting the game of Hockey through Hero Hockey India League earlier in 2014.

    The 60 match tournament will be telecast during prime time on Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Gold and starsports.com with commentary both in English and Hindi.

    Initially 10 second teasers were launched with power packed visuals of the games and the tagline #Guessthegame. More than 15 TVCs including teasers, mini reveals and the thematic campaigns, created by Ogilvy & Mather, are being promoted across all channels of Star Network and starsports.com. The network has also roped in Bollywood star Salman Khan in one of them, a co-promotion for his film Kick.

    The campaign is targeted at the eight franchise cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Patna, Pune, Vizag, Jaipur and Bengaluru. Hoardings have been extensively used to drive the league visibility in all these cities. The PKL has booked spots on FM radio stations such as Radio Mirchi and others for the radio campaign which features  an anthem composed by Dhruv Ghanekar.

    While Kyazoonga is the online ticketing partner for Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Pune, Bookmyshow is the partner for Mumbai and Patna.

     On the digital front, Star says it will be live-streaming the league on starsports.com. The #JeetegaWahi campaign held on 18 July was trending at number one in India, claims the channel. Since then, there have been contests for online fans, which have also sought to demystify the rules of the game.

    A prominent media planner said that advertisers had yet to be finalised for the first season, at the time of writing. He says advertisers will be playing a wait and watch game to see how the league takes shape. Advertising interest will be propelled post the league, he adds.

     Unilazer Sports CEO Supratik Sen which owns the U-Mumbai team when speaking to indiantelevision.com says, “We have a certain level of expectation from advertisers. We will come up with a strong base price during the second season of the league.”

     Leading corporate companies and individuals have ended up owning the eight franchises. They are: Kosmik Global Media for Bengaluru, Kalpathi Investments for Chennai, Rana Kapoor of Yes Bank for Delhi, Abhishek Bachchan for Jaipur, Kishore Biyani of Future Group for Kolkata, Ronnie Screwvala, Unilazer Sports for Mumbai, Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank for Pune and Core Green Group for Vizag. 

     As reported earlier by indiantelevision.com, each of the franchise will have to shell out anywhere between Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore annually including a nominal franchise fee. During the auction, the pool cap for each of the teams was Rs 60 lakh. Patna Pirates bagged the costliest player for this season in Rakesh Kumar for Rs 12.80 lakh. The prize money for the league meanwhile is Rs 1 crore.

    Mashal Sports will keep 80 per cent of the revenue from the central pool with the eight franchises. Marketing partner World Sport Group will receive 10 per cent, while the remaining 10 per cent will be retained by Mashal Sports for organising the league. It is estimated that Mashal Sports will incur an annual expenditure of Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore.

    With one day to go before the league kicks off in Mumbai, one hopes that Indian audiences who have been chanting Dhoni Dhoni or Sachin Sachin will start muttering Kabaddi, Kabaddi, while watching what we believe promises to be an exciting first season for a sport which most of us have at sometime or the other played.
     

  • Pune franchisee all set to battle it out in Pro Kabaddi League2014

    Pune franchisee all set to battle it out in Pro Kabaddi League2014

    MUMBAI: Insurekot Sports Pvt. Ltd., a Mumbai-based firm, today announced the launch of ‘Puneri Paltan’, the franchise that will represent Pune in Pro Kabaddi League 2014. Pro Kabaddi League is slated to kick-off later this month. On the occasion, the Puneri Paltan team logo, anthem and jersey were also unveiled.

     

    Puneri Paltan will be captained by Wazir Singh, who has a long and distinguished record in the sport of Kabaddi. Wazir Singh has represented India, the State of Rajasthan and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). He was part of the team that won the Silver medal for India at the 2011 South Asian Beach Games. Ramphal Kaushik, winner of the Best Coach Award 2011 of CISF, is the official coach of Puneri Paltan.

     

    Sumanlal Shah, Director, Insurekot Sports Pvt. Ltd., said, “Kabaddi is an ancient Indian sport that has lost out to other sports in terms of popularity and investments over the years. The sport is an integral part of India’s rich cultural heritage. It is also a hugely competitive and dynamic sport that makes for compelling viewing. Insurekot Sports Pvt. Ltd. is extremely proud to promote Kabaddi and be associated with Pro Kabaddi League. We are geared up with our team, Puneri Paltan, for an exciting season ahead.”

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Karthi Marshan, Director Insurekot Sports Pvt. Ltd., said, “A truly Indian sport, Kabaddi represents both ‘attack’ and ‘defense’. We have captured this essence in the Puneri Paltan logo, aptly represented by the ‘sword’ and ‘shield’ as well as in the lyrics of the team’s anthem. More importantly, we have used this theme as a guiding principle in putting together a fabulous team.”

     

    The Puneri Paltan team includes Wazir Singh (Captain), Arabinda Khuntia, Jitesh Joshi, K Balamahendran, Mahipal Narwal, Manoj Kumar, Mostafa Noudehi (Iran national), Nitin More, Pravin Niwale, Simon Kubura (Kenya national), Sunil Lande and Waleed Hasani (Oman national).

     

    Wazir Singh, Captain of Puneri Paltan, said, “It is my privilege and honour to lead this team. I would like to express my gratitude to Insurekot Sports Pvt. Ltd. for reposing faith in the team and in the sport, which is by and large recognised as a rural and semi-urban sport in India. I am sure this professional format of Kabaddi will make it popular. I urge every individual from the city of Pune and across the country to extend their support to Puneri Paltan and the League. I am confident that our team will pose a strong challenge and we look forward to a hard-fought and successful tournament.”

     

    The Pune franchise has also launched the team anthem sung by well-known music director, Ajay Gogavale (of Ajay-Atul fame). The anthem captures elements of power, tactics and strategy involved in this heritage sport, and is all set to rekindle the passion and spirit of fans and supporters across India.

     

    Puneri Paltan is currently undergoing training sessions at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex located at Balewadi in Pune, and will be playing its first match in Mumbai on July 27, 2014. The inaugural edition of Pro Kabaddi League starts on July 26, 2014.

  • Patna franchise of Pro-Kabaddi league named Patna Pirates.

    Patna franchise of Pro-Kabaddi league named Patna Pirates.

    MUMBAI: The Patna franchise of the Pro Kabaddi league has been finally christened as Patna Pirates. The owner of the franchise Rajesh Shah, announced the name of the team at a press conference. Unveiling the logo, Shah expressed his hope that Patna Pirates which is being led by Arjuna awardee and ace player Rakesh Kumar would bring accolades to the ancient city of India.

     

    The league which is set to begin in July this year has eight teams from various cities. Captain Rakesh Kumar is the most expensive player in the league who was bought for a record fee of Rs 12. 8 lakh. Kumar had also won a gold at the Asian Indoor games 2013 and Asian Games 2010.

     

    Commenting on launch, Shah said, “We are delighted to launch our team identity today. Kabaddi is an Indian game with historical relevance and has a potential to become a global sport. There is huge talent for the game in our country and I hope the team will showcase the resilient ethos of the people of Patna. I appeal to the people of this city to come forward and support Patna Pirates. We have a state of the art facility in the Kankarbagh indoor stadium, an incredible coach in Rambir Singh Khokhar and a strong team. The package is wonderful.”

     

    Patna Pirates Captain Rakesh Kumar added, “I am honored to be chosen as the captain of this talented side. I would like to thank Shah for embracing a sport like Kabaddi which will go a long way in promoting this ancient sport and giving the sport a professional status. I am confident that Patna Pirates will bring laurels to this city and state of Bihar.”

     

    Another player, Sunil Kumar, who was allotted to the Patna team as a state wild card commented, “I’ve been playing Kabaddi all through my youth. It was in school that I took to it as I watched all my friends and brother playing the game. I stuck to the sport, represented Delhi and then eventually earned a call up for the Indian team, which was a huge moment for me, and I never thought it could be topped. But now I hope to build many more new memories with the Patna Pirates and I eagerly look forward to the start of the tournament.”

     

    The Pro Kabaddi league is an initiative of Mashal Sports and intends to bring glory to the Indian game.

  • Pro Kabaddi league auction sees big buys

    Pro Kabaddi league auction sees big buys

    MUMBAI: In a major boost for Kabaddi players, eight franchises scripted a new chapter in the revival tale of Kabaddi in India. Bidding for the Kabaddi talent took place under the hammer of the traveling gavel, Bob Hayton, at the first ever Pro Kabaddi auction.

     

    In what was seen as a tightly contested battle, eight franchises pitting their tactics and strategies, the Bengaluru Bulls, drew first blood winning the bid for star player, Ajay Thakur for Rs 12,20,000 who was Asian Indoor Games 2013 gold medalist. Similarly, Patna went all out and brought home World Cup gold medalist from 2007, Rakesh Kumar, for a whopping Rs 12,80,000, which recorded the highest bid of the day. Joining the bidding league was Delhi, who won the bid for Surjeet Narwal-2010 Asian Beach Games gold medalist for Rs 12, 20,000.

     

    Having picked their key players from category A, team owners set out to select players from category B with The Telugu Titans setting the wining tone bid and getting on board Deepak Niwas from Jharkhand for at Rs 12,60,000, capitalising on the depth of young talent in category B.

     

    The Puneri Paltans, who closed their bids in category A as one of the lowest spenders, went all out when they bid and won the strong defense of Manoj Kumar for Rs 9, 10,000.

     

    Commenting on his big fortune for taking home the highest pay, Rakesh Kumar said, “This was a wonderful initiative by the federation for the benefit of all players and the sport across the globe. This is a real game-changer in the field of professional Kabaddi and is a huge step in building an infrastructure that will allow people to make a living through a sport they all love.  I look forward to the quality of play that I shall be exposed to.”

     

    International Kabaddi Federation president Janardan Singh Ghelot said, “I am happy to be witness to this day. This is a huge boost of confidence for the Kabaddi fraternity across the globe. The financial backing that the league promises is a great sign to come. We are inching closer to our mission of making Kabaddi an Olympic sport.”

     

    “Today is a landmark day, a phenomenal start, for what should be a memorable three months to follow. Every franchise has contributed immensely towards the development of sport by injecting a massive dose of belief, commitment and respect that the sport has always deserved. We at Mashal may have started the crusade but are delighted to now be joined by a very impressive list of reputed organizations,” he added.

     

    Speaking on the revolution of the sport, Arjuna Awardee Raju Bhavsar commented, “It is heartwarming to see how far this sport has progressed, the difference almost night and day! I never thought that in my lifetime I would be witness to a moment where a Professional Kabaddi player would be valued at such high numbers – truly worth his while. This day will go down in the history books in gold – this is the new dawn for Kabaddi.”

  • Going global with the World Kabaddi League

    Going global with the World Kabaddi League

    MUMBAI: Business tycoon Anand Mahindra’s floating the Pro-Kabaddi League has piqued nation-wide interest in the home-grown game apart from spawning similar endeavours.

     

    One such is the recently launched World Kabaddi League (WKL), a venture undertaken by WKL president Sukhbir Singh Badal, which also draws inspiration from four highly successful editions of the circle-style Kabaddi World Cup held in the state from 2010 to 2013 that saw participation from as many as 21 countries.

     

    The inaugural event is slated for June at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi, with WKL president Sukhbir Singh Badal and WKL commissioner Pargat Singh expected to make a formal announcement. The event promises to be big on star presence and performances.

     

    While seven countries including India, Pakistan, England, Belgium, USA, Canada and Australia will participate in the WKL itself. As of now, 10 teams that are neither state- nor country- specific have been confirmed, and players will be selected by ‘draw of lots’ for the maiden season. Next year onwards, the selection may be through public auction. The prize money for the opening season of the league is Rs 4 crore.

     

    WKL CEO Raman Raheja says that WKL was launched for a variety of reasons, including building a dynamic and sustainable global sports league that would see Kabaddi become a professional sport, and engage fans and business associates with world class sports entertainment, experience and service. WKL hopes to take Kabaddi to the best of venues and provide patrons with great entertainment in a clean, secure and comfortable environment.

     

    WKL has been modelled on the lines of a travelling sports property where all 10 teams will play each other in the same week, similar to the Formula One format. According to Raheja, the target audience is the sports viewing audience which constitutes barely three per cent of total viewership, with cricket lovers forming the majority.

     

    “Our focus in the first season will be to grow the Kabaddi following in various pockets of HSM. The league marketing and communication will be broad based and this will target sports fans. My belief is people will watch as long as there is an excitement to the game and there are enough people here and elsewhere who are tired of watching the same sports over and over again. That audience is mine and I will play it to the field,” said Raheja.

     

    With an exciting league in place, an important marketing strategy seems to be in place too. WKL officials said they were very much excited at the prospect of having top Bollywood personalities, pop artists, international investors, corporate giants and celebrated NRIs as possible franchise owners.

     

    Furthermore, a 360-degree marketing plan deploying conventional and new media will be rolled out to market the league and make it one of the best marketed sports properties to come out of India. The short-term objective is to launch the WKL brand and create top-of-the-mind awareness about it, using the digital medium. The long-term objective is to engage top sports broadcasters in each of the host markets and engage top distribution feed across the world.

     

    WKL officials said they are in touch with Sony Six for India and Geo TV for Pakistan as official broadcasters for the league. While ARY Network is the broadcaster for Dubai and the UAE. Efforts are on to rope in broadcasters from other countries as well.  

     

    WKL will have four associate sponsors and a title sponsor and each of these would conduct program activations across all geographies to ensure they capture the audience’s mind space. The revenue model for WKL is simple, involving minimum guarantee of central revenue share from broadcast and sponsorship sales. Local revenue from sponsorships, merchandising and licensing will be considered. Revenue from ticket sales and concessionaires will also start, although price points of tickets for domestic matches will be well within the reach of an average tier II Kabaddi fan. Corporate boxes will be available for sale to sponsors/guests and will be direct revenue for franchises with 100 per cent share of collection.

     

    Franchisees will additionally gain revenue from the box office collection for matches held on international weekends.

     

    Will having two Kabbadi leagues really give a boost to the sport? Said Zenith Optimedia managing director Naveen Khemka, “A dying sport like Kabaddi needed an uplift. Having two leagues will be good for the game both nationally and internationally. A strong financial backing from corporate and government encouragement was needed.” But when asked if the leagues will be a clash of interest, he said, “In the long run I see only one league sustaining. There will not be two Kabbadi leagues.”

    While the Pro-Kabaddi League will ensure that the sport is promoted across the country, the WKL plans to take the game a notch higher and onto a global platform.

  • India to become a Kabaddi nation with Pro-Kabaddi League, this July

    India to become a Kabaddi nation with Pro-Kabaddi League, this July

    MUMBAI: Kabaddi for long has been neglected as a sport in India. Or at least that has been the popular notion. But here are some interesting stats: there are over 4,000 clubs in the country, with live spectator audiences attracting over 50,000 people for a single game. Without the need for expensive infrastructure, 700,000 schools play the sport. Astonishingly, at a global level, 32 countries are affiliated to the International Kabaddi Federation (including Germany, Italy, Japan and Korea).

     

    But now with the launch of the Pro Kabaddi League by Mashal Sports and the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) the prospects of this indigenous game seem to be changing for the better. To be held between July-August, this year, the game is doing all that it can to gain eyeballs.

     

    With sports broadcaster Star Sports bagging the broadcast rights for the Pro Kabaddi League, the sport is looking at greater visibility. Star India COO Sanjay Gupta, after the channel got the broadcast rights had said, “Our association with Kabaddi is in line with our stated objective of transforming the sports landscape and enabling the growth of a multi-sport culture in India. Pro Kabaddi will build an ecosystem that can potentially take this game to the next level. We plan to offer an immersive and engaging experience for the Kabaddi viewers.”

     

    The league will be played on specially developed mats, in state of the art indoor stadiums across eight cities. Top Kabaddi players from across India and the globe will participate in a show of intense competition and sporting camaraderie. Having Star Sports as the official broadcast partners for Pro Kabaddi league will help bring the game to life on television with super audio-visual transmission quality. The game and the event are designed to take television by storm.

     

    There are leading corporates and individuals who have ended up owning the eight franchises. They are: Kosmik Global Media for Bangalore, Kalpathi Investments for Chennai, Rana Kapoor of Yes Bank for Delhi, Abhishek Bachchan for Jaipur, Kishore Biyani of Future Group for Kolkata, Ronnie Screwvala,Unilazer Sports for Mumbai, Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank for Pune and Core Green Group for Vizag.  By roping in Abhishek Bachchan as one of the franchise owners, Mashal Sports plans to use all tools at their disposal to make the game more attractive.

     

    Each of the franchise will have to spend between Rs 45–50 million annually which includes a nominal franchise fee.

     

    With media rights partner frozen, the sports management company is eyeing one title sponsor, three co-sponsors and some partners. The company will share 80 per cent of the revenue from the central pool with the eight franchises. Marketing partner World Sport Group will receive 10 per cent, while the remaining 10 per cent will be retained by Mashal Sports to fund the expenses incurred for organising the league.

     

    It is expected that Mashal Sports will incur an annual expenditure of Rs 100-150 million on the league.

     

    The Pro Kabaddi matches will be preceded by a player auction, where each team will be getting an equal opportunity to build its squads. Almost 100 players will be auctioned, out of which 72 players will be Indians and the rest will be international players from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

     

    These players have been shortlisted by the International Kabaddi Federation as well as the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, giving the amateur Kabaddi players a chance to perform at a professional level. The prize money for the league is a lucrative 10 million rupees ($165,800) which many hope will add prestige to the league.

     

    The league promises to take the sport to a whole new level of prominence and ensure that stars such as Navneet Gautam, Ajay Thakur, Rajaguru Subramanian and Rakesh Kumar become the new sporting heroes of Kabaddi.

     

     The lineup of sponsors for the league has not been revealed as of now. But Pro Kabaddi will have robust social media marketing strategies. Sports enthusiasts, in India and all around the world, can keep track of the match.

     

    Each franchisee will not only have their team colours and star players, but also create their own fan following with innovative media outreach strategies, scores, players as well as participate in the game through social media platforms such as the Pro Kabaddi league website www.prokabaddi.com, twitter handles @ProKabaddi #ProKabaddiRevolution and Facebbok page Prokabaddi.

  • Kabaddi gets a new life with ‘Pro Kabaddi League’

    Kabaddi gets a new life with ‘Pro Kabaddi League’

    MUMBAI: After various leagues around cricket, hockey, badminton, football and tennis, it was time for Kabbadi to make a foray. Not missing the opportunity to bring back the rustic Indian sport to the limelight, Mashal Sports and the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) launched the Pro Kabaddi League at the National Sports Club of India today.

     

    The sport has progressed from being a loved Indian game to the international platform. The League aims to extend its reach further to the international arena by bringing Indian and international players along with acclaimed Indian personalities and sports authorities on the same platform.

     

    The official website www.prokabaddi.com will be a repository of information on all things related to Pro Kabaddi as well as Kabaddi in general while Star Sports will be the official broadcast partner for the League, the matches of which will be held on a ‘home and away’ format with daily, LIVE, prime-time coverage.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said: “Our association with Kabaddi is in line with our stated objective of transforming the sports landscape and enabling the growth of a multi-sport culture in India. Pro Kabaddi will build an ecosystem that can potentially take this game to the next level. We plan to offer an immersive and engaging experience for the Kabaddi viewers.”

     

    Mashal Sports co-promoter Anand Mahindra, who will play a key role in taking Kabaddi to another level, tweeted: “Had asked you about supporting indigenous sport, specifically Kabaddi. Well proud to be a co-promoter of #ProKabaddi league we launched today.”

     

    During the launch of the league, he also stated: “A vibrant, professional sports league can bring about a transformational change for the sport and its players. Pro Kabaddi is our attempt at bringing this change to our very own, extremely popular sport of Kabaddi. The modern, international, competitive form of the quintessentially Indian sport is already extremely popular across the world and with good television coverage and passionate team owners; Kabaddi’s massive following has the potential to make it the next big thing in sport.”

    Mashal Sports MD and well known commentator, compere and quizmaster Charu Sharma, who is the force behind conceptualising and organising the league recalled how he was pleasantly shocked to see the power, passion and reach of Kabaddi while commentating during the 2006 Doha Asian Games. “I just knew, instinctively then, and more surely now, that modern, international Kabaddi has all the ingredients required to make it a major, visible force in the world of sport. I am truly grateful to the many visionaries who have made Pro Kabaddi possible,” he remarked.

     

    World Sport Group (WSG) is the official commercial and event partners of the Pro Kabaddi League that has seen significant franchisee interest. Already pledging their support as team owners are leading entrepreneurs such as Ronnie Screwvala, Rajesh Shah (Mukand Group) and Kishore Biyani. Advanced discussions are on with other corporate giants such as the GMR Group and Murugappa Group. Even Shah Rukh Khan is known to be interested in it.

     

    The league has been organised in association with International Kabaddi Federation, Asian Kabaddi Federation and Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India.

     

    All Pro Kabaddi League matches will be played on a specially developed mat in state of the art indoor stadiums across eight cities. Top Kabaddi players from across India and the globe will participate in a show of intense competition and sporting camaraderie. A 10-minute exhibition match between top players in an ‘arena-within-an-arena’ at the NSCI Indoor Stadium, Mumbai spectacularly showcased the fresh, exciting and international face of Kabaddi. 

     

    Ogilvy & Mather executive chairman and creative director South Asia Piyush Panday said: “Kabaddi is the ultimate combination of power, agility and tactics. It is one of India’s unique treasures and I am glad that we are able to present it an international stage in such an exciting format.”

     

    The matches will be preceded by a player auction, where each of the teams will get equal opportunity to build their squads. Almost 100 players will be auctioned, out of which 72 players will be Indian and the rest will be international players from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, England, Indonesia, Italy, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United States of America, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

     

    The League is set to take the sport to a new level of prominence and ensure that stars such as Navneet Gautam, Rakesh Kumar, Ajay Thakur and Rajaguru are bound to become the new sporting heroes.

     

    Matches will be played as per the current international rules and regulations of the IKF. The Federation is also seriously considering making some small but significant changes to the game, to enhance its appeal on television. 

     

    Pro Kabaddi League, will have robust marketing strategies. Each franchisee will not only have their team colours and star players but also create their own fan following with innovative media outreach strategies. Sports enthusiasts, in India and across the world, can keep track of the matches, scores, and players as well as participate in the game through social media platforms such as the league’s website www.prokabaddi.com, Twitter handle @prokabaddi and Facebook page Pro Kabaddi.