About a decade or so ago, the concept of sports leagues emerged
in South Asia. The pioneer of this sports league concept in the region was, of
course, the Indian cricket board’s initiation of Indian Premier League (IPL)
which started in 2008. Of course, in other regions of the world, such types of league and franchise-based
sporting competitions have been going on for ages. Pakistanis got their first
taste of it with the inception of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2016. Being a
cricket-mad country, the PSL was bound to be a success and a huge hit with the
fans, and so it has proved to be a couple of years down the line. A new
addition to this spectrum of franchise-based sporting competitions in Pakistan
is the Telenor 4G Super Kabaddi League
which is set to get underway on May 2, 2018,
after a glittering opening ceremony the night before.
In years (and decades) gone
by, one thing that has been a major source of pride for Pakistan is its
exploits in the sporting arena. The country even has the unique distinction of
holding the world title in four major sports at the same time at one point
during the early 90s. These included being world champions at cricket (thanks
to the exploits of Imran Khan’s cornered tigers in Australia in 1992), hockey
(world cup win in 1994 led by the inspirational Shahbaz Ahmed Snr.), squash
(the absolute domination of Jehangir Khan and Jansher Khan), and snooker (a
heroic run to the title in the world amateur championships in 1994 by Muhammad
Yousaf).
There is a rich history of exploits in other sports as well,
Kabaddi being one such indigenous sport of the region. Pakistan has long been an
international powerhouse of this sport and has won numerous titles at different
times. However, interest in the sport had been waning in recent times and the
sport had been starting to lag behind in the country. Amid this situation, the
Super Kabaddi League 2018 comes as a breath of fresh air for players as well as
followers of the game. The team behind SKL (Super Kabaddi
League) is confident that they can make the new generation sit up and take notice
of this highly interesting and nerve-wracking sport. Super Kabaddi League plans
to create a brand that is highly valuable and will be instrumental in
reigniting the interest of the masses in Kabaddi
while making a contribution towards getting international sporting competitions
back in the country.
Rebirth of Kabaddi in Pakistan
While it is the state’s
responsibility to provide infrastructure and an enabling environment for sports
and other such healthy activities, it is the private sector that is currently
at the forefront of all major sporting initiatives in the country. It will be
interesting to see how this particular venture turns out in the years to come.
The team behind SKL (Strawberry Sports Management, an
Islamabad-based sports management company) has got big plans not just for
Kabaddi but other sports as well. Professional franchise-based league
competitions are also in the pipeline for football, volleyball, and wrestling. They
are trying to address different expectations of Pakistanis who have long wished
for Pakistan’s revival as a global sporting powerhouse.
Just like the Pakistan Super League has become a benchmark on
which the abilities of Pakistani (as well as international) cricket players are judged and good performances often rewarded
with selection for the national team(s), it is hoped that in time the Super Kabaddi
League will become a center of excellence for Kabaddi in Pakistan. The future
of the game is set to get a major shot in the arm with SKL. Hopefully, the
league will be able to live up to all expectations.
1 comments:
Can we watch it on the Ullu Web Series App.