Gurugram (Haryana) [India], April 24 (HBTV): The Global Indian Pravasi Kabaddi League (GI-PKL) has invited the Chief Minister of Haryana, Nayab Saini, to declare the upcoming league open, which gets underway in Gurugram on Friday.

The GI-PKL will commence with men’s matches on the opening day and run for 13 days, culminating in the finals on April 30 at the Multipurpose Hall of Gurugram University.

On April 18, an opening ceremony will take place in Gurugram, for which an invitation has been sent to the Haryana CM. Holistic International Pravasi Sports Association (HIPSA) President Kanthi D Suresh penned a letter inviting the CM to the grand event.

‘Keeping in mind the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s announcement regarding hosting the Olympics in India, we have with pride taken up the responsibility of getting Kabaddi included as an Olympic sport and paving the way for India to win a historic Olympic gold medal in our indigenous sport,’ Kanthi D Suresh said in her letter.

‘To realise the government’s visionary initiative, we began an international Kabaddi training campaign and are now organising the world’s largest Kabaddi league, where male and female players from 10 countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe will participate alongside Indian players.’

‘It is with great pride and honour that we cordially invite you to grace the occasion on April 18 at Gurugram University to declare the games open and celebrate the spirit of sports,’ she added.

The Kabaddi craze is already sweeping through India’s cities. From Delhi and Noida to Hyderabad and Mumbai, GI-PKL is dominating public attention with an aggressive outdoor campaign. Over 30 prominent billboards have been mounted across major cities including Bareilly, Lucknow, Dehradun, and Gorakhpur. On the opening day, the league will run a one-day digital campaign at New York’s Times Square.

Earlier, the league schedule was announced: each day will feature three matches starting at 6:00 PM IST, broadcast live on Sony Sports 3, DD Sports, and Fancode. The league stage will run until April 27, followed by the men’s semi-finals on April 28 and the women’s semi-finals on April 29. The tournament will culminate in the Grand Finals for both categories on April 30, where the inaugural champions will be crowned.

HIPSA’s past initiatives underline its commitment to Kabaddi’s global growth. In December 2023, HIPSA entered into an MoU with the Haryana government for global training in Kabaddi, and in March 2024, it secured a Guinness World Record for a Kabaddi event at Panchkula’s Tau Devilal Stadium.

This edition marks a first-of-its-kind initiative in Kabaddi, featuring women playing alongside men, with representation from Asia, Europe, and Africa.

(ANI)