Kabaddi Adda launches its latest campaign, ‘Mann Ki Jeet’

In wake of recent events propelled by the pandemic, Kabaddi Adda has unveiled its new mental health campaign for the Kabaddi ecosystem to build a greater support system for the player community at the grassroot level. Titled ‘Mann Ki Jeet’, the campaign has been supported by kabaddi leaders including, former captain of the Indian Kabaddi Team Ajay Thakur,  along with award winning national players like BC Ramesh, Ashok Shinde, Rishank Devadiga, current Indian captain Deepak Niwas Hooda and veteran player Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Dronacharya Awardee coach Rambir Singh Khokhar, in addition to the CEOs of the Pro Kabaddi League. Former Dean, and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS, Bangalore, Dr. Santosh Kumar Chaturvedi among other prominent doctors will be on board as well. 

The campaign, which has 3 closed door sessions, will be accessible to everyone and primarily be hosted in Hindi,  and is aimed at the Kabaddi players. As part of this initiative, special invites have also been extended to kabaddi players and coaches from 90+ academies (800+ players) who qualified to participate in the upcoming K7 Kabaddi tournament.

Attendees will also get a chance to ask questions while gaining valuable insights and suggestions from the experts and professional Kabaddi players that share their own learnings and experiences.

Ace kabaddi player and one of the leading voices of the initiative, Ajay Thakur discloses, "I too have been suffering from anxiety and depression since the pandemic. I would now like to help young players participating in the K7 tournament realise their mental health issues and work around the same. This has been a hard time for all of us and I'm truly hoping that the upcoming events will rescue us from this dry run." 

He also adds, "I'm so glad to see so many kabaddi community leaders coming together and joining forces to take up the cause to help the Kabaddi players’ ecosystem."

The sessions will be available on th as episodic pieces for the 500,000+ active subscribers of the platform for future guidance. Edited excerpts of these conversations will also be shared on social platforms as well.

The show is hosted by TV Presenter / Sports Commentator and co-founder of Kabaddi Adda, Suhail Chandhok. He says, “Mental health wellbeing is an important issue which needs to be addressed ahead of resumption of live sports given the considerable gap. Our initiative saw very encouraging participation from industry leaders and the player community to lift and support budding athletes. We plan to launch the K7 tournaments soon to bring opportunities to players waiting to get back into the game and we hope to see them fit, physically, as well as mentally.”

In his advice to players who are looking to get back to the field, former Dean, and Senior Professor of Psychiatry at NIMHANS, Bangalore, Dr. Santosh Kumar Chaturvedi says, “Athletes must understand the importance of mental health in order to achieve maximum confidence and dexterity when going back to the field.  If they identify any difficulties related to their mental health, they should address it immediately. They can reach out to friends, colleagues, coaches or professionals for help. ”

While talking with CEO, Kabaddi Adda, Arvind Sivdas, it is clear that this awareness creation drive is just the first step in a journey of creating a more self-aware and well-rounded kabaddi player. He says, “Being the second largest played sport in India with a huge players-base and YOY growth witnessed, the kabaddi community continues to gain importance. We are glad to have successfully rallied the community and leaders to come together to guide and support the players, to help them restore their lost faith.”

Kabaddi Adda is the digital market leader and trust holder of the Indian vernacular kabaddi fan. With tremendous reach on social media that already includes over 500,000 amateur Kabaddi players and fans mostly from Bharat, Kabaddi Adda has developed a deep-rooted connection within this ecosystem. The company has also extended the campaign to social media with the Kabaddi leaders sharing encouraging messages on their profiles, by holding placards. With this, the campaign aims to reach the maximum number of people to spread awareness about the importance of mental health while bringing legitimacy with the participation of leading personalities.

Currently, the company empowers more than 4000 players and connects them to 500k+ followers with over 2.5 Million active engagements every month. It raised a seed fund of INR 1.5 Cr from Artha Ventures in 2019 and has been making inroads in the ecosystem with its tournaments like K7 and diversified content around Kabaddi.