Of red buses...

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 He took voluntary retirement from Andhra Bank in 2001 to shift his focus on the game, occasionally helping his family in their liquor business.

In 2005 he was elected secretary of the national federation and went about bringing about changes, first among which was to involve the Asian countries. “We raised about `1 crore to conduct the Asian Championship involving 10 teams. National president Janardhan Singh Gehlot encouraged me to go ahead with the event, which was the turning point. Now, including India, 32 countries play kabaddi and we can stake claim for a spot in the Olympics. The US, Mexico, Italy, Canada, Taipei, Japan, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan participated in the last year’s Women’s World Cup in Patna, where India won.”

Another of his contribution has been the inception of the ‘institutional nationals’, “which provided the players, jobs in firms like ONGC, Air India, Bharat Petroleum, Mahindra & Mahindra, various banks and other government-run subsidiaries.”

Money has been flowing in. “Kabaddi is next to cricket as far as prize money is concerned,” Jagadishwer declares. “There are about 200 allIndia invitational tournaments played every year, each carrying a hefty purse.”

“Last year, we started the Kabaddi Premier League, inspired by cricket’s IPL, and ensured each player earned `50,000 a week. Now, “the second KPL is being planned in July, to be played in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi. Players in this edition would earn `5 lakh over a month,” he says.