There was a time, not so much in the distant past, when bare-footed kabaddi players would play the sport, tugged away in some remote village of rural India without much appreciation and acknowledgment.

But things changed dramatically after the advent of the Pro-Kabaddi League which not only gave a fillip to the profile of the game but also put the limelight on the athletes as they took the driver’s seat.

A witness of this changing phase is former India kabaddi captain, Honnappa C. Gowda. As someone who had started playing the sports almost three decades ago, Honnappa has seen the worst of times and best of times.

“When I started as a 13 year old, taking the first lessons of kabaddi, looking at my elder brother, C. Govindraj, it was more about getting a job like him in sports quota. We used to play barefoot. It was only after I got a job at Indian Telephone Industry in 1991, that, I started playing with shoes which were provided by my department,” recounts Gowda, who helped India win three golds in Asian Championship in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

Like most kabaddi players in the country, Gowda also grew up in a huge family with five siblings, two elder sisters and three elder brothers. Naturally, the going was tough ever since he started playing in 1986 from Bangalore Maruti Kabaddi Club, Yashwantpur.

“My family was not very well to do but they always supported me. We did not have money to buy milk, nor there any special diet. We depended on whatever was cooked at home,” he says.

The 42-year-old, who captained India to Asian Games gold in 1998, has been recently roped in as the coach of Dabang Delhi to guide the team during the second edition of the Pro-Kabaddi League which was a huge hit last year.

Now as the players of Dabang Delhi trains under his watchful eyes, Honnappa can’t help but appreciate the contribution made by Pro-Kabaddi league in giving these young kabaddi players a hope for a better life.

“PKL has made a huge difference in terms of facilities that are provided to the kabaddi players or remuneration for that matter. They have special shoes, air-conditioned rooms to stay, dieticians and physio therapists to take care of them. Even during tournaments, they are given flight fares and put up at five star hotels. It is a welcome change,” says Gowda, who won India gold medals at the South Asian Federation in 1995 and 1999.

“Earlier, despite winning medals in nationals and international events, there was no recognition or respect for the players. Now look at the way fans adore them. From getting suitcase and steel tiffin boxes as a prize to getting bikes and cars as remuneration, it has been a huge change. Now they don’t have to think about their family, they can just focus on the game,” he says.

Gowda, who played at the National Championships from 1988 to 2003, feels PKL has also made a change to the mindset of the players and it augurs well for India’s hopes of doing well in international events.

“Kabaddi has always been played by people who belonged to lower class as it was an inexpensive sport. It never was like a recreational sport. Now even people from well to do families are also taking up the sport. So there is a change in the mindset,” he says.

“The game has also evolved over the years. Kabaddi is being played on mat at the international level now rather than mud and I think PKL gives that much-needed exposure to the Indian athletes to used to it. It will only help us to do well in international events,” he opines.