APRIL 2015

Students of even high end schools are now pushing away
benches and desks to play kabaddi in class, a far cry from
the days when it was dismissed as a rural sporting
activity. Sreeramaneni attributes the success of the game
to its simplicity, the fact that you require nothing more
than 4 lines drawn with chalk to start playing and that the
rules are simpler than cricket and hence even those in
the age bracket of 50-55 easily follow the game they once
played in school.
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Anindita Mazumder
P
ro
Kabaddi League - Season one
was all about social commitment
and putting the game of Kabaddi
under the arc lights of glamour
and glitz. But after the runaway success of
Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) -judging by the
huge jump in television viewership, second
only to Indian Premier League - Season
two is certainly going to be different and
far more competitive, promised Srinivas
Sreeramaneni, owner of Telugu Titans.
Though Telugu Titans had beaten the best
teams it did not exactly finish at the top of
the table in the first season. But this time
the team - a powerhouse of raw talent, is
eager to strike the winning note.
Firmly going by the maxim, “Catch Them
Young” the team owners had chosen to
build a relatively young but talented team,
the average age is below 23 years. But in the
first edition, despite having age and talent
on their side, the team suffered because of
lack of experience.
“Last year we did not go for any high
ranking players or from the Indian team.
We paid the highest in ‘B’ category. So
I don’t think we did too badly. This time
we feel we need one experienced player
who can control the game from within
the court. This is because once the game
starts the coach has limited control. And
players, once they are inside the court,
forget all about strategy and tend to follow
their instincts,” said Mr Sreeramaneni who
is also the chairman of Core Green Group.
A successful entrepreneur, he was inspired
enough by Anand Mahindra and Charu
Sharma of Mashaal Sports – organisers
and the brains behind the Pro Kabaddi
League, to invest in a kabaddi team as
a part of corporate social responsibility.
Though in his school days he aspired to
be an ace swimmer, the ardent sports lover
formed Veera Sports along with Mahesh
Kolli and N Gautham Reddy after being
convinced by Anand Mahindra. Veera
Sports owns Telugu Titans, the TELUGU
franchise of PKL.
The original objective was to popularize
the game and ensure its inclusion in
the Olympic Games within the next ten
years but the success of PKL in terms of
television viewership only affirmed their
belief that kabaddi can actually give many
a sports, a run for their money.
The game’s popularity has surged manifold
after PKL. Students of even high end
schools are now pushing away benches
and desks to play kabaddi in class, a far
cry from the days when it was dismissed
as a rural sporting activity. Sreeramaneni
attributes the success of the game to
its simplicity, the fact that you require
nothing more than 4 lines drawn with
chalk to start playing and that the rules are
simpler than cricket and hence even those
in the age bracket of 50-55 easily follow the
game they once played in school. Add the
glamour quotient brought in by Abhishek
Bachchan and his Bollywood crowd and
you know the game is a definite crowd
puller.
But when PKL was conceived both
the organisers and franchisees had not
thought of any returns, at least for the first
five years. In fact, Srinivas Sreeramaneni
comes across to you as a man very
different from the cut throat entrepreneur
you expect; after all he has set up his first
business at the age of 24, subsequently sold
three companies and even contemplated
retirement by 40. But monotony of a
retired life must have convinced him
otherwise. However, he still believes in
doing things differently, as proved by his
decision to chuck software and set up
Core Green Sugar, the only industry in
Yadgir- one of the most backward districts
of Karnataka – where he had originally
planned to do some “tree planting” as a
part of “NGO activity” .
Hence, it is no wonder that the owners are
also bringing in their own inputs and the
step-by-step planning process so familiar
in the corporate board rooms to a game
which has largely been looked down by
those from urbane milieu. In fact those
associated with the game - players, coaches
and even the regulating body remain
oblivious of the giant leaps made in the
sporting arenas of the world, thanks to the
use of advanced technology. For instance,
Sreeramaneni talks about “profiling of
playing positions and players” much in
advance so that these are actually drilled
in through longer period of training. A
hands-on owner, he even knows the ‘right
build’ for a player playing at any particular
position.
Unfortunately, players and coaches are yet
to understand the benefits of long term
and meticulous planning. They still go by
a training module spanning some three
weeks. “ A volleyball team representing
Japan in two consecutive Olympics are
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