If the Steelers and
Titans meet in the championship
game, it will be watched by tens of
millions of people. No, this isn’t about the NFL but a
league whose popularity may be growing even faster:
India’s Pro Kabaddi league, which features 12 teams,
including the Haryana Steelers and Telugu Titans.
Last season’s title game between the Patna Pirates
and the Gujarat Fortunegiants drew a TV audience of
26.2 million, almost twice the number of viewers who
tuned in for cricket’s IPL final.
The popularity of the league, beginning its sixth
season in October, has turned some kabaddi stars
into professionals. The highest-paid player this year
will be Monu Goyat, a 25-year-old raider whom the
Haryana Steelers landed with a Rs. 15.1 million
($225,609) bid in a recent auction in Mumbai.
“I am extremely happy to be the highest paid
player this season,” Goyat told Reuters. “There is a
huge responsibility to deliver and I am glad to receive
this opportunity. I will now focus on increasing the
standard of my game and playing the best I can.”