Pro Kabaddi League: How kabaddi players from rural India are becoming crorepatis

You answer a few questions and get a crore.

That’s how India’s successful Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) was marketed. Referenced in pop culture, right from the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire to the recent Bollywood film Sector 26, this game show gave a crore to its triumphant contestants.

In 2024, some spirited kabaddi players from across the country have already bagged a crore, but they will have to give quite a few answers in the weeks to come. All eyes are on their performances in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), kickstarting this week, even as sports fans get set to cheer their favourite teams in this fast-paced contact sport.

Sachin Tanwar – Tamil Thalaivas

Sachin will not forget August 15, 2024. Even as the auction bids for PKL 2024 flew fast that day, an emotional Sachin ended up being the most expensive player, joining the Tamil Thalaivas for a whopping 2.15 crores.

For Sachin Tanwar, hailing from Badbar village in Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, it was a “wild dream come true.” A renowned name in the Indian kabaddi ecosystem now, his tryst with the sport started a long time ago, when he once bunked school to play kabaddi. “My uncle, my elder brother Deepak... everyone in the family used to play kabaddi. I would be spared for bunking school if I played the game well,” he laughs.

He did. After representing India in the 2016 Junior Asian Championship, Sachin debuted in the PKL, impressing all with his raiding skills, and also went to become a key part of India’s successful kabaddi campaigns. “It makes us feel proud that such a rural contact sport, played on dirt ground, is getting liked in urban India.”

The 26-year-old is looking forward to playing well for the Tamil Thalaivas this season. “This is a team game, and the team we get into becomes our family,” says Sachin, promising to learn more than just ‘vanakkam’ and ‘saptiya’ during his stint here in the coming weeks.

When he is not playing kabaddi, what does he do? “We are a family of farmers. You’ll find me busy in my farm in the village, cultivating crops.”

Guman Singh – Gujarat Giants

Guman Singh

Virat Kohli has always been Guman’s favourite sportsman. Watching him play all those swashbucking cover drives and pulls, a young Guman – growing up in Sherpur village in Gurgaon (Haryana) – dreamt of playing cricket and audiences following his games on TV.

A part of that dream has come true, but Guman is now a rising star in another sport – kabbadi – in the PKL. “My uncle introduced me to the sport and I was fascinated,” says Guman, who at 15, left home to train at the Narwal Kabaddi and Sports Academy in Haryana and was soon inducted into the league.

“I loved watching kabaddi on TV. I wanted my family and friends to also watch me play on the big screen,” recalls Guman.

Now 25, Guman credits PKL for transforming his life, enabling him to build a house for his family and securing a Railways job. He was snapped up for Rs 1.97 crore by Gujarat Giants this season, something that gives him a great confidence boost. “Kabaddi has taught me discipline,” he says, adding, “The sport is here to stay and grow. It is among the highest-watched sports in India, after cricket.”

Maninder Singh – Bengal Warriors

Maninder Singh

Manider Singh was a regular in the mitti grounds of Panwan village in Hoshiarpur (Punjab). There, he has played many kabaddi matches, always being aggressive and earning a name of being a dangerous raider, a player that opponents dreaded.

He is, today, using his raiding skills at the national level. As one of the most successful raiders in the PKL, with two trophies to his name, Maninder is living the dream. “I am used to playing on soil in my village. While playing on a mat surface, the game is faster and more exciting. We raiders get more acceleration on such surfaces,” he says.

He credits senior kabaddi player, Ran Singh Raniya, with whom he played in his first season, with a lot of his success today. “Raniya paaji taught me various techniques of the sport. When he is by my side, I play without any stress,” he says.

The captain of Bengal Warriors since 2019, Maninder was retained by the team for Rs 1.15 crores this season. “We know that if we play well in a season, we will get paid better in the next. Kabaddi also ensures a lot of us players jobs and thus, helps us get into the right frame of mind to practise for the league,” he says.

Maninder has an interesting prediction: that by 2034, kabaddi will become as popular as cricket in India. “It’s a shorter duration game, whereas cricket is quite longer. Crowds will definitely pour into the stadiums and make it full. Also, as compared to earlier, the players now are more skillful and the new rule changes have helped the sport grow. Who knows, it might surpass the popularity of cricket one day.”

The Pro Kabaddi League, kickstarting on October 18, is scheduled to take place in Hyderabad, Noida and Pune in the coming weeks. Watch it on Star Sports Network, Star Sports 1 Tamil and Disney+Hotstar.

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