New Delhi, Aug 15: Holistic International Pravasi Sports Association (HIPSA), in collaboration with World Kabaddi, is organising a first-ever Global Women’s Kabaddi League in September.

The League will bring together women athletes from over 15 nations, as Global Pravasi Women's Kabaddi League (GPKL), a first-of-its-kind tournament, gets underway.

The League is set to kick start in Haryana, with the objective of promoting and developing women's Kabaddi globally. It will feature teams from over 15 countries. Athletes from diverse backgrounds, including nations like England, Poland, Argentina, Canada, and Italy, have expressed their desire to feature in the League.

"This league stems from the vision of our government's keenness to bid to host the Olympics on Indian soil and see our indigenous sport of Kabaddi having teams participating from across continents, with India a natural powerhouse in the sport, adding to our gold medal tally," HIPSA president Kanthi D Suresh said.

The league aims to promote Kabaddi to the international stage, serving as a major step towards the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic Games and supporting India’s bid to host the landmark event in 2036.

HIPSA has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Haryana to further this dream.

Kabaddi is the oldest sport and has been in the Indian subcontinent from time immemorial. It was included as a full sport in the Asian Games in 1990, with the women's event introduced in 2010.

At the Asian Games 2023, India clinched both the men's and women's titles in Kabaddi, stamping their dominance in the sport.

Former Indian Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has also voiced his support for Kabaddi’s inclusion in the Olympics. As India sets its sights on hosting the Olympic Games in 2036, the inclusion of Kabaddi in the Olympics will just be the icing on the cake.

"The allotment of hosting rights for the Olympics is done by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through a detailed host selection process spelled out in the public domain. The IOC has a dedicated body, the Future Host Commission (FHC), which deals with this subject. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which is the NOC for India, has initiated the dialogue process with the FHC," Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply in Lok Sabha in July.

"The inclusion of any sport discipline in the Olympic Games is decided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Among other things, the IOC has prescribed that a sport discipline must be governed by an International Federation that undertakes to follow the rules of the Olympic Charter and it must also be practiced widely across the world and meet various criteria," he added.

Global Pravasi Women's Kabaddi League represents the first step toward realising the country's ambitions, including the aspiration to host the 2036 Olympics and to have Kabaddi included as an official Olympic sport.

The schedule for league will be revealed in due course.

--IANS

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