Abhishek Bachchan was the centre of attraction at the panel discussion on league games and their boom in India. Abhishek who owns leagues in football and kabaddi spoke about promoting these sports truly as a fan sans his glamour power.
“As a team owner, I have never ever brought my film star status into sports. If it has had a ripple effect then so be it. I love sports and want to do a lot more in promoting sports. I have been a sportsman and used to play basketball in college. When you promote such league sports, economics shouldn't be your only concern. You have to mix passion with economics."
Talking more about kabaddi, Abhishek said, "Sports in India is seen as fooling around and not taken seriously. But IPL set the foundation for these leagues. Kabaddi was seen as a leftover field sport. But when I went into the sport and saw it, I believed it needed to be packaged and shown in our country. The great thing about kabaddi is that everybody knows it and has played it. So it has a ready fan base. And most kabaddi fans love the sport and not teams."
Abhishek also praised the National Kabaddi Federation for their support to the Pro-League."We had a wonderful time with the Kabaddi federation. They have been liberal and supportive in helping us make the game viewer friendly.”
Replying to a query on women's kabaddi, Abhishek said, "The day is not far away when we can announce a pro kabaddi league for women. Infact in kabaddi, the wonderful thing is that men practice with women as their levels are the same and women have actually beaten men many times."
Kudos to Abhishek for actively promoting a sport other than cricket.
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