Have you ever watched professional kabaddi live? It’s possible that your answer is a No! For a cricket crazy nation that we are, Kabaddi and other sports often unintentionally skip the consciousness of even ardent sports fans!
I am glad that I now have an affirmative answer to this question. Yes, I experienced watching live kabaddi match, thanks to Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 10.
This year’s season started on 2nd Dec, from Ahmedabad and moved to Bangalore from 8th Dec. Shree Kanteerava stadium is the venue for Pro kabaddi league Season 10 matches till December 13th, 2023. From Bangalore, the action will move to several different cities; Pune is next and is followed by Chennai, Noida, Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyderabad and other cities. Check PKL fixtures here.
Did you know these facts:
Kabaddi is an extremely popular sport in India and several other countries like Pakistan, Iran, China, Japan, England etc. participate in this sport. Kabaddi is the national sport of our neighbor, Bangladesh!
- In 2022, Pro Kabaddi league was the most watched sports league in the country, trumped of course, only by IPL.
- India has won all Kabaddi world cups ever organized, except once, when Pakistan was the winner (circle style tournament organized by Govt. of Punjab)
- At the Asian games, India is a dominant force in Kabaddi. We have won 8/9 gold medals (Men) and 3/4 gold medals (Women) across all editions.
Pro Kabaddi League: My Experience
The tickets for Pro Kabaddi league, are available on Bookmyshow. Typically there are two back to back matches hosted in the single day. I watched Bangalore Bulls vs Dabang Delhi and UMumbai vs Puneri Paltan. Unfortunately, the home team lost the match!
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric! There were barely any empty seats and popular Kannada movie actor Sudeep was in attendance. Kabaddi is an extremely fast paced sport and it was hard to keep pace. The agility of the players is incredible. To see them warming up before the game is a joy. They can jump high, very high. They do mid air splits and just seem to be bouncing around. Players’ fitness is a unique combination of muscle strength and high flexibility. Their energy is infectious and their fitness made me feel, well, appreciative but jealous!
Some of the tackles during the match were jaw dropping! “Have you seen a pack of lions attack their prey? I haven’t”. I imagine it won’t be very different from how the team pounces on the raider from the opposing team. To watch a strongly built six feet human circled by a bunch of other humans and not allowed to move even a few inches is an unparalleled experience!
Buoyed by the home crowd support, at one point during the Bangalore Bulls match, they came back from behind and put up a good fight to narrow the points gap. Then, every raid was getting cheered and the anxiety was palpable. It didn’t last long; however it’s hard not to acknowledge the nail biting and anxious moments that this sport can give the spectators. Isn’t that what we want when we go out to watch sports?
Conclusion:
Overall, I had a great experience and I am now certain that I want to watch this sport live again. For 2024, both IPL and Pro Kabaddi League are on my bucket list!
Have you watched a kabaddi match live or plan to do so this year or next? It will be great to hear about your thoughts and experience in the comments section.
So together, let’s say Kabaddi, Kabaddi, Kabaddi!
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