I am not going to be a very popular man by stating that the huge success of the recent Punjab Kabaddi World Cup was not a measure of international acceptance of the sport.
Despite the massive coverage given in the Indian media, and to a lesser extent in Pakistan, the event hardly raised a murmur elsewhere.
Much of the excitement outside the Indian sub-continent was confined almost exclusively to the passionate Indian community.
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If there was one news from the tournament that made headlines outside India was the revelation of 13-odd Indian players being tested positive in drug tests.
The sport desperately needs to reinvent itself to be more appealing to the naysayers and the uninitiated.
Circle kabaddi is perceived as a traditional Punjabi game, and the Kabaddi World Cup only further cemented the fact.
This withstanding the fact that Iran and Pakistan were the two odd teams at the tournament.
The game has to be more relevant to a more diverse group to gain a better international stature.
In this aspect the National Style kabaddi has done a better job, whereby teams like Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and China do field teams comprising of entirely non-Indian origin players.
Traditional sports from other countries, especially wushu, sepaktakraw, karate and taekwondo, are internationally recognised because they were able to entice athletes from other demographics.
National Style Kabaddi have made better inroads in this aspect by making crucial changes to the way the game is presented.
I am probably treading into more controversy by saying that I found the Punjab World Cup failed in this department.
I was perhaps one of the handful of Malaysians to have watched the live telecast of the tournament final between India and Pakistan over the internet.
While I enjoyed the technicality of the game, I was a tad disappointed with the overall presentation of the game.
For me it looked like a match in the park instead of a World Cup, especially with spectators being allowed within hands reach all around the play ground.
Why weren’t they properly seated at the bleachers? The visual presentation of the final was completely undermined by this poor decision.
I was wondering what would have happened if Pakistan had won the match. If there was a crowd disturbance, the organisers would have most certainly failed in providing security for the players.
There were a number of other aspects that the organisers should also have paid more attention to.
The event would have attracted more non Indian or more precisely non-Punjabi followers if a more specific Public Relations campaign was carried out in both the electronic and print media.
The television presentation seemed to have been catered specifically for the Punjab state viewership. English commentary would have helped others understand the game much better.
I was also surprised that the producer made the decision to conduct interviews with VIPs even while the match was going on. This could have been more tastefully done during the break time.
Many of the players who turned out for their respective countries have created a great following even before the World Cup.
But with a lack of an international media campaign, their heroics at the World Cup would mostly remain anonymous.
The Punjab State government and the sponsors spent millions to stage the event and there should have been a better exposure for these sponsors.
It is important that sponsors see the value of their sponsorship via exposure at the stadium and through the media.
The organisers should have made provisions of using neutral technical officials for the event.
The final was officiated by only Indian technical officials and if the match had been much closer, it could have created plenty of problems.
Despite the shortcomings, it was a positive start to promoting the game.
Making drug tests compulsory was a giant leap in cleaning up the game and making it more attractive to the sponsors as well as spectators.
Despite kicking out numerous players for having tested positive, the issue of doping in kabaddi has not died down even after the final.
Pakistan officials insinuated that perhaps some of the Indian players were not clean after losing the final.
Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) secretary Muhammad Sarwar told a local news channel that he had requested the International Kabaddi Federation to retest some of the Indian players.
The issue of doping had gone viral in several web forums but it would take some time to completely discard the apprehensions.
Many of the teams are already talking about the next Punjab World Cup and I am sure that they would come better prepared to dislodge India form the pinnacle.
