This Article FIrst Appeared In The Print On Jan 27, 2023
Collecting scrap along with his father was a routine exercise for Ramji Kashyap until a year ago. He was keen on playing kho-kho but his parents advised him to look for a conventional job, to support the family of nine in Maharashtra’s Solapur district. His heart was stuck on the sport. Cut to September 2022, Kashyap was adjudged ‘player of the tournament’ in the inaugural season of Ultimate Kho Kho or UKK as it is known as—‘India’s first-ever professional kho kho League’.
Kashyap is not the only player finding his feet in the game. And kho-kho is not the only sport to receive massive adulation among sports enthusiasts in a cricket-crazy nation. Nine years ago, Kabbadi paved the way for indigenous sport in India, and now kho-kho is carrying the baton ahead. The latest season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) raked in 222 million viewers, according to viewership data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India — 17.5 per cent more than the 2021 season. Kho-kho, which ventured as a league only in 2022, also clocked in a massive audience of 184 million across various platforms. In comparison, Indian Premier League, country’s most successful professional league, garnered 370 million in 2022 season, according to BARC. Clearly, India is steadily rediscovering its traditional sporting roots.