I was amazed to see the interest of community in Kabaddi, hence i decided to do a little more digging into the subject.
Background
Played initially in mud courts across India, kabaddi’s first appearance at a global event was in 1936 at the Berlin Olympics. Indians consider this as the gift from Indians to the world.
Having caught the eye of the audience, it got a tremendous response, even being reported on by many regional European newspapers. However, 84 years on, the sport has had little mention since.
But the meteoric rise of this Indian sport has helped change opinions in recent times with the introduction of the new rules adding to the thrill and popularity of the sport and in turn raising the stature of the sport and its players into sporting icons.
Emergence of kabaddi in India
The year 2014 was remarkable for kabaddi as it went from being perceived as a rural sport, to attracting television audience from every part of India. However, this lead to the death of hockey.
The advent of the franchise-based league Pro Kabaddi enhanced the dynamics of the sport and gave it a major boost which drew attention from many other countries as well.
The franchisee were owned by the celebrities and stars which got glamour to the game.
Kabaddi Popularity
Nielsen Sports reported interest in kabaddi has grown 14 percent year over year since 2015.
Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) annual report claims that Kabaddi has been the most viewed mass sport after cricket in India.
The numbers from the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup held in India touched 114 million in viewership across the 16-day tournament.
It saw countries like the United States of America, Australia, Poland, Iran, Kenya and Argentina participate in the tournament among others. The final match between India and Iran was one of the 50 most-watched events on television at the time.
Google Trends
Ten years ago, kabaddi did not feature in the Indian internet user’s radar. With the PKL, interest in kabaddi has peaked with every season and even occasionally overtaken interest in football.
Conclusion
Not just Kabaddi but also the players are living a life of a stardom. Kabaddi fans shower their love and support to the players on and off the mat with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. You can also check out the profiles of some renowned players such as Deepak Hooda, Sandeep Narwal, Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Girish Ernak to have an idea about the game's rising fan base.