PM Modi's visit inspires Polish Kabaddi players for Global Pravasi Women’s League in India

Warsaw (Poland), Aug 26 : A few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed their kabaddi connection with India, players from Poland have expressed great enthusiasm about their participation in the upcoming Global Pravasi Women's Kabaddi League (GPKL) to be held in India.

Last week, PM Modi was in Poland to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During his keynote address, he brought up a common factor between the two countries – Kabaddi.

"We are connected through the game of kabaddi. This game reached Poland through India and they took it to great heights. Poland is going to host the Kabaddi Championship for the first time. I want to wish good luck to their team," the Prime Minister said in his address.

Now it has been revealed that Poland will be one of the prominent participants in the inaugural Global Pravasi Women’s Kabaddi League (GPKL), which is set to take place in the National Capital Region. Season 1 of this event will bring together female Kabaddi players from over 15 countries.

Polish players have always expressed gratitude towards India for bringing the sport of Kabaddi to the nation.

Kanthi D. Suresh, President of Holistic International Pravasi Sports Association (HIPSA), the main body behind organising the GPKL confirmed the participation of women players from Poland along with other European countries as well. It’s about reaching the 40-country mark for women's participation; she reiterated as it is a mandatory norm for Olympic inclusion

During the visit, PM Modi, also met Michal Spiczko, President of the Kabaddi Federation of Poland, and Anna Kalbarczyk, Board Member, Kabaddi Federation of Poland, in Warsaw.

The meeting with PM Modi was so impactful that the President of the Kabaddi Federation of Poland, Michal Spiczko echoed the sentiment that India should try and bid for the Olympic Games in 2036 and expressed a desire to see Kabaddi in it.

The Global Pravasi Women's Kabaddi League (GPKL) aims to promote Kabaddi on the international stage, serving as a major step towards the inclusion of Kabaddi in the Olympic Games and supporting India’s bid to host the Landmark event in 2036.

Organised by HIPSA, in collaboration with World Kabaddi, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed between HIPSA and the Government of Haryana and a 10-year MOU has also been signed as a long-term plan and vision to achieve the objective to promote and develop Women's Kabaddi globally.

The Global Pravasi Women's Kabaddi League (GPKL)will feature teams from over 15 countries in the first Season. While players from diverse backgrounds and nations like England, Poland, Argentina, Canada, and Italy, have expressed their desire to feature in the League. The organisers are making sure to have representation across all continents in the League with all 6 teams to have a player representation of at least 3 continents in each team.