Moving away from cricket

Once upon a time, parents used to discourage their children from taking sports too seriously since education was seen as the only option to build a career. But with more and more sports coming up with their own professional leagues in India, future generations of youngsters may no longer have to go through the agony of sacrificing their sporting ambitions.

While hockey, cricket, kabaddi, badminton, football, boxing and tennis already have their own leagues, the year 2015 saw wrestling also join the bandwagon. The inaugural edition was quite successful with crowds thronging the venues and world class action on the mat.

Since wrestling is perceived to be more popular in the northern part of the country, the PWL organisers preferred to host most of the matches in the region. Even Mumbai's home matches were shifted to Delhi. Bengaluru was the only city outside north India to host matches while Delhi along with Ludhiana, Gurgaon and Noida virtually hosted the entire tournament.

The public support was excellent, with the stands being packed to the rafters on most days. With wrestling being the most successful sport for India at the international level, and Indian grapplers successfully challenging the best in the world, the PWL has a strong chance of being a long-term success story.

One of the most successful has been the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) which saw as much popularity in its second edition as in its first. Although most Indians have played kabaddi at least once during their growing up years, the sport was in a very poor shape due to absence of sponsors and spectators.

The lack of money forced many kabaddi players to become security guards or bouncers in order to support their families. But the scenario has taken a complete U-turn with the arrival of the PKL. Not only has the PKL brought in the sponsors and the crowds, it has also created stars. The combination of supreme athletic ability, speed, strength and teamwork has proven to be a heady mix.

With the first two seasons proving to be an unconditional success, the organisers are studying the prospect of holding two seasons a year -- in January and July -- from the third edition of the PKL in 2016. Tennis fans were also in for a treat as greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played out their legendary rivalry in capital's Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in front of packed stands.

The Indian Super League (ISL), launched amidst much pomp and fanfare last year, also staged its second edition in 2015. But the league, which was touted as the vehicle that will transport Indian football out of abject mediocrity, has not exactly lived up to its billing.

The star-studded tournament is already proving to be a somewhat negative influence on domestic football. With clubs allowed to field as many as six foreigners in their playing XI, it is difficult for too many Indian players to make their mark. The second edition of the ISL also saw a new team being crowned champions as Chennaiyin FC dethroned last year's winners Atletico de Kolkata.

But away from the field, the flight of sponsors to the ISL franchises has affected some of the I-League clubs. So-called professionally managed clubs like Pune FC and Bharat FC closed down, leaving the city of Pune without a representative in the country's primary football tournament. But glitches apart, these leagues have brought sports other than cricket into the limelight.

Through the eighties and nineties and for most of the last decade, cricket was the most followed sport in India, sometimes to the detriment of athletes in other disciplines. While the most trivial issues and achievements concerning the gentleman's game was blown up and publicised by a hyper-active media, achievements in other sports were often ignored. This is no longer the case.

By Ajeyo Basu