The Sheru Classic Maha Mumbai Kabaddi League, a franchise based kabaddi tournament for the local kabaddi talent from Mumbai, that commenced on the 13th of August 2022, happening on the Sports Complex, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus has entered it’s last week with the playoffs and the finals scheduled from the 26th August to the 28th August 2022. The league with its all inclusive structure has proved to be one of the most innovative kabaddi leagues for the local kabaddi community. The support and love it got from the audience with 5 Mn+ digital impressions and 400k+ views in its opening week. However, the value of these numbers can only be realised by considering the opportunity the league has created and the beneficiaries of that. The league is unique as it is not restricted to players from a particular age group or gender or economic background. With a total of 12 franchises participating in the tournament out of which 4 are women’s franchises , the league has managed to include everyone in the development.
SportVot, a sports tech company that has organised the league in association with Ganesh Krida Mandal and in affiliation with the Mumbai Upnagar Kabaddi Association has conceptualised the league in a way that an 11 year old boy Neel Akhade, the youngest player on the league to a 58 year old player in the seniors category, everyone has got the chance to represent their teams and show their skills to the world and monetise their game. The vision behind creating such a platform is to appreciate local talent and support emerging athletes to take up sports professionally.
The league has crossed the halfway mark, and players from different categories have shone and proved their mettle. Some newer faces and names have come into the limelight. With key players like Komal Deokar, Nikita Utekar, Harjeet Sandhu, Shubhada Khot, Akash Gaikwad, Bharat Karangutkar, Akash Arsul living up to their reputation in every way possible, it is the young players from the sub-junior category that have impressed everyone the most. With Neel Akhade, an 11 year old becoming the youngest kabaddi player to play at a professional league to names like Neha Pandav, Sayali Ingale, Ankit Yadav, Om Kudale, Uddhav Mharnur have raised everyone’s eyebrows with their game.
Sidhhant Agrawal, CEO and Founder of SportVot says, “We are happy that we could provide the players with a platform where they can freely express themselves and hone their skill, learn from the best and interact with athletes of all kinds. I am sure this has opened newer horizons for many of them and looking at how cut-throat the competition is going, it’s getting difficult to say which team is enjoying an upper edge so we are really looking forward to the qualifiers and the finals as we have a grand finale planned for the next sports superstars.”
The qualifiers will be starting from the 26th of August, along with a special exhibition match in display of the spirit of the game on the 27th and the finals will be taking place on the 28th of August! At the end of the league, we are expected to meet not just the six winning teams of the Sheru Classic MMKL but also the ‘Player of the Tournament’, the ‘Green ArmBand Best Raider’ and the ‘Orange ArmBand Best Defender’ along with the most exciting ‘Voter’s Choice Award’.
