How India's Victory in Asian Kabaddi Championship will impact Sport

India has always been a sports-loving country. While Cricket dominates most of the time, Kabaddi has certainly become one of the most popular sports in the country. Kabaddi began as an exercise several decades ago, but over the years, it has really become an international sport. The sport, the rules have changed over the years. We have even moved from mud to mat today. With the modernization of the game, the craziness and popularity of Kabaddi have also increased.

Today, Kabaddi has seen as a business model and that is one of the reasons why Pro Kabaddi League became a huge success. The investment over the years has helped the League to become one of the most-watched franchise leagues all over the world. Today, Pro Kabaddi League has produced several new faces and everybody comes in with one common goal, which is to play for the country and win medals.

Therefore, whenever India lifts a trophy, it inspires a young kid to take up the sport as a profession. They certainly fall in love with the stars who brought glory to the country. Today, several players who are playing the game are inspired by a former player. These kids grow up wanting to be like their idol and some even want to play alongside them.

Everybody likes to be a winner, and everybody loves it when their country lifts a prestigious title. So, every time, the Indian kabaddi team do wonders on the mat or mud, it inspires the kids to take up the sport.

In fact, India is truly a superpower in Kabaddi. Take any championships or even the World Cup, India has completely dominated the sport. This is one of the major reasons why the Kabaddi and Kabaddi leagues have gained popularity in the country. While growing up, most of us would have played sports but had to give up because sports, except cricket, were never an income-providing option those days but today, Kabaddi is also seen as a profession because of the income.

Therefore, there is a huge chance that people take up the sport more than before. The parents are already allowing their kids to practice Kabaddi more than they used to in those days. While we still have a long way to go in terms of parent's acceptance, representing the country and winning the gold medal is certainly a good first step towards the same.

As mentioned earlier, India has been a powerhouse in the game and winning the tournament has been the standard they have set for themselves. However, in 2018, India had to settle for bronze in the Asian Games. This was seen more as a problem of pride, and the team had to come up with a bigger victory to get back to where they belonged in the recently concluded Asian Kabaddi Championship. Therefore, when India lifted this title, they also lifted their standards back to the top, to the place, where they were all these years.

Though India has lifted the Asian Kabaddi Championships seven other times, this title means more than others because of the emotions that come with it.

Also, comparatively, this Championship had more viewers than others. The Pro Kabaddi League season nine brought in more than a million viewers and when most players, who featured in the League represented the country, the fan following only increased for these tournaments. This victory will definitely bring in more market for the sport.

For the first-timers, this victory will stay with them forever because India almost played flawlessly while lifting the trophy. This Asian Kabaddi Championships will certainly inspire the next generation and if India continues to perform the way they did in the tournament, we might never know, how many kids will be ready to become the next Naveen Kumar or Pawan Sehrawat.