Hydearabd: The oldest Indian sport is now the newest commercial buzz. After rooting for the IPL, celebrities are now kicked about the re-advent of kabaddi, a sport that is making a heady comeback with the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL).
With the launch of PKL, kabaddi became one of the most talked-about events on social media. Twitter saw more than 6.05 million tweets in 12 hours and 30,000 people had posted about it on Facebook. We probably have Abhishek Bachchan and Ronnie Screwvala to thank for attracting the glitterati to the sport. With them owning Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba respectively, the launch was attended by everyone from Farah Khan, the Bachchans, Kabir Bedi, Tina Ambani to Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was also seen at the event.
“It’s just incredible to see the agility there, the speed, the awareness, it is extremely important and I have played this sport in school. It has been fantastic to come back again and support the sport,” told PTI.
Picking up on PKL’s popularity, celebrities are now reaching out to the world with the World Kabaddi League (WKL), a sport that’s all set to be followed across 26 countries globally. With Akshay Kumar and Yo Yo Honey Singh owning teams, Junior Shotgun, Sonakshi Sinha too joined the WKL fray.
So, what is it about the sport that’s electrifying the classes and masses alike? “The fitness, endurance and athleticism required to excel in Kabaddi is arguably more than the popular bat and ball sports,” says Kannada actor, Chetan Ahimsa.
