Pro Kabaddi League has not only helped popularise kabaddi across the country but also enabled unearth new talent, who have showcased their skills among the best in the business, said the league's Commissioner Anupam Goswami.
"The League has grown from strength to strength with each season. The surge in consumption of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League is a strong indicator of the kind of love our country has for its home-grown sport," he said in an e-mail interaction.
He said PKL has managed to strike a chord and play up the latent but extremely strong widespread support for kabaddi.
"The growth of the league has been commendable. A lot of that has to do with the high-octane nature of game play inherent in the sport, as well as the way it's been packaged and presented," Goswami added.
He said the growing numbers with regard to viewership and popularity of the players was testimony to the fact that kabaddi was enjoying increased patronage.
"PKL's season-5 saw an increase in viewership numbers and the finale became the most viewed non-cricket sporting event in India. Our players too, today have become heroes,with their popularity increasing season on season. Overall the league and franchises, with the support of the Federation, have managed to re-ignite the country's love for kabaddi," he added.
The PKL Commissioner further said steps were being taken to consolidate the gains in the past seasons, adding the focus now would be on quality of matchplay.
"The value proposition of PKL has already been demonstrated, among other things, by the very successful expansion for season V to welcome four new teams. We are consolidating the systemic gains around this expansion for the league. Given the format that's currently paying dividends, we are staying with the current 12 teams and will be focusing on quality of matchplay and enhancing the fan experience."
He said PKL had helped unearth new talent, who have been able to hone their skills by being part of the event.
"Consistently infusing fresh talent is critically important and the league has been successful in identifying some exceptionally talented kabaddi stars and further honing their skills through opportunities that focus on health, fitness, strategy and game play through camps and training programmes," Goswami said.
He also pointed out to the Future Kabaddi Heroes programme, started in 2017 when Mashal Sports and AKFI collaborated to develop a large-scale talent scouting programme for kabaddi in India.
"We are furthering the effort this year by scouting across 18 cities in the country. The entire program spanning three months includes a one month intensive training for the final shortlist of players that are drafted in the auction pool for PKL Season VI," he said.
In this regard, he said last year 55 up-and-coming players from the programme were absorbed into franchise teams, and some of them performed exceptionally well against more experienced, battle hardened players.
Goswami said kabaddi is an integral part of Indian culture and the league has helped bring about an improvement in the sport's reach.
"The sport is already very strong across the country, in terms of both following and participation. Kabaddi is an integral part of Indian culture, irrespective of state. We have definitely brought about a significant improvement in its reach and audience connect in line with global standards," he added.
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