International fans flavour speaks to Pro Kabaddi’s ever-increasing reach

VIVO Pro Kabaddi has created a new benchmark this season through new teams, new players, new venues and unprecedented growth in viewership. The pull of the league is not just confined to the country but spreading far and wide beyond Indian shores.

India lifted the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup at Ahmedabad in front of an enthralled global audience. The participation of twelve teams from the world over highlighted that kabaddi was not only restricted to the rural areas of the sub-continent. Hence, needless to say, by putting up an emphatic performance in the final, India did win fans worldwide.

One such group of fans recently crossed countries and oceans to get a glimpse of their favourite kabaddi stars. Sam and Kieron from Ireland, John from England and Mace from Wales were in attendance at Lucknow’s Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, where they watched kabaddi for the first time up-close. Their previous exposure had been only through TV.

Prokabaddi.com spoke to them and it emerged that one day the bunch just made up their mind to witness the ‘crazy’ game from close quarters and hence took the journey of thousands of miles that included 3 trains and a long flight to reach Lucknow. And they feel it’s been worth their while. Fans of U.P. Yoddha and their star players Nitin Tomar and Jeeva Kumar, the quartet shared their experience in VIVO Pro Kabaddi with great enthusiasm.  

“[The experience has been] really amazing. Absolutely fantastic! The crowd is crazy and we will surely come back again,” said one member of the group.

The new-found enthusiasm surrounding the sport of kabaddi and the international appeal that it has garnered recently is highly motivational for those who dream to carve their way to glory through this indigenous sport. With fans now travelling from abroad to catch a glimpse of the kabaddi stars of today, the future surely looks bright for the sport. As for the results for U.P. Yoddha, whose performance in the home leg has been very poor, Sam aptly put it without showing any disappointment. “When it comes to kabaddi, we are all winners,” the Irish said with a smile.