Thaindian News

Chandigarh, April 5 (IANS) Enthused by the good response for the ongoing Kabaddi World Cup Punjab (KWCP), the state government is proposing to initiate International Kabaddi League (IKL) on the lines of the popular Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament.
“The idea is to promote kabaddi on an international level and to give global exposure to our players,” said Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab deputy chief minister here Monday.

“The IKL would professionally market the game at the international level so that players can get worldwide recognition. In the coming days we will also make all out efforts to get circle kabaddi included in the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and in the Olympic Games.”

Sukhbir, who is also the chairperson of the organising committee of KWCP said IKL would organise matches in Europe, Canada, the US and in Australia in summers and quarter-final, semi-final and final would be played in winters in the Asian sub-continent especially in India and Pakistan.

Presently nine international teams from countries like Pakistan, US, UK, Canada, Iran and Australia are participating in this cash-rich KWCP.

The winning team of this tournament will bag a cash award of Rs.1 crore while the first runner-up will receive Rs.51 lakh. The second and third runner-up teams will take home Rs.21 and Rs.10 lakh, respectively.

Besides, Rs.500,000 each will be given to other participating teams.

“Our new sports policy is being framed after getting inputs from sports professionals and it is aimed at organising games right from the grassroots level. We have already distributed Rs.100,000 each to 2,500 villages in the state to promote sports infrastructure,” Badal said.