Pro Kabaddi: Promising start to second season as spectators rally behind U Mumba

With great, unexpected success comes great pressure to deliver it again. On the eve of the start of the Star SportsPro Kabaddi League’s second season, the biggest challenge facing the orgainisers was was how to meet rising expectations, if not exceed them.

If the opening weekend in Mumbai’s Dome at the National Sports Club of India is any indication, the PKL is off to a good start in its second innings too.

The 12,000-seater indoor stadium at National Sports Club of India was practically fully - nearly 90 percent of available tickets were bought on both days according to a source - as the local team U Mumba took on defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers in a repeat of last year’s finals in the season opener and played Bengaluru Bulls in their second match on Sunday.

With the crowd rallying behind the team, with roof-lifting cheers accompanying every play that the home team made, the Mumbai team remained unbeaten after their first two fixtures. The team, led by star raider Anup Kumar and ably supported by the short, stocky Jeeva Kumar in defence, defeated Jaipur by a solitary point in a defense dominated game on Saturday that ended 29-28. U Mumba then put in a much more convincing, all-round performance to emerge 36-23 winners over the Bulls on Sunday.

But the real takeaway from the opening weekend was the undiminished fan turnout in the stadium. Even before the opening match, the buzz around the stadium was palpable. When Abhsihek Bachchan – owner of Jaipur Pink Panthers – started off the evening’s proceedings with a “Chal, Kabaddi, Kabaddi, Kabaddi”, the crowd got loud. When Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the crowd ‘What’s up, Mumbai?’ they got louder. And when Amitabh Bachchan performed a hair-raising rendition of the National Anthem, they lost their minds.

(Go ahead, listen for yourself!)

On a night when the who’s who of Bollywood was present, the crescendo was, heartwarmingly, reserved for the players. Chants of “Anup, Anup, Anup” were loud all evening on Saturday when the U Mumba captain went on raids against the Pink Panthers. Shabeer Bapu, who Anup referred to as someone born to play Kabaddi, had a similar reception on his raids and so did Rishank Devadiga, Mumbai’s third raider.

Jaipur was not short on support either. Jasvir Singh – who was adjudged the best raider of the opening match – got healthy applause every time he floored the defenders. Kabaddi is one of those rare sporting events where defenders get to take centrestage and Jeeva proved a star in his own right, making three big solo tackles against Jaipur, each of which got the crowd on their feet.

The crowd spontaneously broke into a chant of “Defence, Defence, Defence” when Jasvir went up against Jeeva and co and the DJ followed by blasting it over the loudspeakers.

It was the same on Sunday night when the Bollywood stars were not present in numbers to egg the crowd on. Abhishek said before the first match that the “Real superstars of the league were the players” and as clichéd as it sounds, he was proved right. Fewer stars outside the court only meant more attention was on the players’ efforts as Mumbai staged a brilliant comeback after a shaky start against the Bulls to win it 36-23.

There was a period before half-time when the crowd seemed a bit subdued by the way Bulls had started. With the score at reading 9-12, Shabeer raided down the left, went deep and lured the Bulls defender into the tackle. When two defenders caught hold of his feet, he fought his way out and when he had touched the mid-line the Bulls players were scampering to avoid getting dragged with him.

Shabeer successfully bought U Mumba – and the crowd – back into the game and there was no stopping them after that. The moment of the day – when Shabeer jumped over two defenders before somersaulting his way back to the mid-line - had the crowd on their feet clapping and hugging each other.

“I was here last year for quite a few games, but the crowd reception is much better this year,” said Farah, a hotel management student in the city. “The players are working harder to win. I am a big fan of Anup and I’ll keep coming to watch him play.”

A group of 12 school kids chanted the names of raiders without having a squad sheet in their hands. On Saturday, they cheered not just for the Mumbai stars, even Ajay Thakur – Bengaluru’s talisman – had his name chanted. Even when Dabang Delhi was losing their opener, trailing by twelve points with barely three minutes left to play against Telugu Titans, a raid which fell three defenders got a rousing reception.

Admittedly, there are some fans who said they preferred the television experience. “It is great fun to be inside the stadium, with the songs and music and we enjoyed it,” Dipak Lokhande, a 21-year-old resident of Mumbai, said. “But I still prefer watching from home because the game experience is better with statistics, analysis and instant replays.”

But overall, those in the stadium were thrilled to be treated to a high octane sport with dull moments few and far between.

Considering the event was a novelty in the first year, Pro Kabaddi had the public’s curiosity. The second time around, it appears to have their attention.