The official organisers of Men's Pro Kabaddi League, Mashal Sports, have made the official announcement that they are exploring the launch of a professional annual league for women's kabaddi after the men's pro kabaddi is now heading towards its 10th year. The league is expected to be called the Women's Kabaddi League.
Although the organisers haven't spoken about how many teams they are planning to have in the first season, they previously tried to hold a test tournament of three teams named Firebirds, IceDivas and StormQueens. The organisers named the event, the Women's Kabaddi Challenge in 2016.
Women Kabaddi League
Anupam Goswami, CEO of Mashal Sports & League Commissioner of Pro Kabaddi League spoke about the possibility of having a Women's Kabaddi League in a statement.
Goswami revealed that the plan to start the professional women's kabaddi league is based on the success they saw with the men's league. He mentioned that they were working with stakeholders, such as the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) and the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) to launch the league.
Arjuna Award Winner V Tejeswini Bai, captain of the winning team StormQueens from the Women’s Kabaddi Challenge in 2016 spoke about the upcoming women's kabaddi league.
Bai said that since the Pro Kabaddi League was launched in the year 2014, all the professional women kabaddi players have aspired to have a league of their own, and the women's versions of Pro Kabaddi League will be a dream come true for all those players.
According to the raider in Pro Kabaddi with the highest point score, Pardeep Narwal the quality and popularity of Pro Kabaddi League has enabled them to acquire pride and respect as kabaddi players in India. Narwal added that he knows that the women’s Pro Kabaddi League will guarantee the same recognition and reward for the professional women athletes.