Kabaddi: IPL inspires kabaddi league

The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India announced that the tournament will feature eight franchises.

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) may have lost some of its lustre but the Twenty20 tournament’s overall success has inspired other sports to launch similar leagues and kabaddi is the latest to jump on the bandwagon. After the International Hockey Federation announced plans of a professional league modelled on the IPL earlier this month, the governing body of the team contact sport in India has launched its own version called the Kabaddi Premier League. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) announced that a tournament which will feature eight franchises will be staged from June 8 at Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The winners will receive prize money of INR1,000,000 while the runner-up will pocket INR500,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2011.