Interview with Dabang Delhi coach Honappa C Gowda: "Pro Kabaddi League fills me with pride"
For a state with an illustrious history in this field, it’s surprising to have their first Arjuna awardee hailing from the much neglected and till now ignored sport of kabaddi. Honappa C Gowda isn’t your regular sportsperson though – a pioneer, he competed in an astonishing 17 straight Senior Nationals. As he reminisces, it didn’t take long before the national selectors took notice and soon he was drafted to represent the country.
While doing so, he ended up winning multiple titles at the international level, most notably a gold at the Asian Games, 2 at the SAFF Games and 3 at the Asian Championships.
His tryst with kabaddi though took a new turn last month when he was appointed head coach of Dabang Delhi, the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) franchisee based out of the capital. With less than a week to go for the 2nd edition of the tourney, we managed to catch up with Gowda. In an exclusive tete-e-tete, he opens up about the game, his team’s preparations and how he foresees the league develop in general.
Excerpts:
Q. You weren’t part of PKL last year. Did you manage to follow it though?
Of course I did, and I will be honest here – I didn’t even envision the success that the league turned out to be last year. We had played the sport for years and yes, people in villages would be excited but this was something different. It was almost as if the whole country was rooting for our players, that, in my opinion is a dream come true for the sport and everyone associated with it.
Q. So did that inspire you to take up this assignment?
The Dabangs approached me sometime early this year and I was up for it, immediately. As I mentioned it’s a great opportunity for all of us. We have a platform where we can finally say that I am proud to be a kabbadi player.
Q. Till this we have had sparse opportunities for players to treat this sport as a profession in our country, do you see that changing now?
Definitely, earlier we used to play to get a government job. Now that PKL is here, things are ought to change for good. It’s a brilliant opportunity for all us, one that we deem to capitalize on.
Q. How would you rate your team’s preparations for the 2nd edition, we hear some of the players are yet to join the squad.
That’s too, 2 Japanese and a Korean player haven’t joined the squad yet. That’s not going to be a deterrent though – the rest of the squad is pretty settled and it shall be for everyone to see once the league kicks off on Sunday.