Women's Day: Radha Kapoor's Journey To Become Lone Woman Team Owner in Pro Kabaddi League

Kabaddi has been all about men, muscle and power with no presence of women. On Women’s Day, Meenakshi Rao talks to Radha Kapoor, the only woman team owner in the Pro Kabaddi League’s male bastion, who is making all the difference.

Hyderabad: This Women’s Day, let’s spotlight Radha Kapoor, a rare and young visionary who has shattered barriers in the male-dominated world of sports to promote the all-male kabaddi league as the only woman team owner in a world of muscle and brawn.

Kapoor, who owns the high-performance Dabang Delhi team, is the only woman in a sport where women are neither welcome nor taken seriously.

Not that it has posed an insurmountable challenge for her. “It was just a matter of acceptability and the synergy we as the franchisee have with such a budding crop of talent from all kinds of backgrounds that gender itself has taken a backseat,” Kapoor says with confidence.

Her journey from the design arena where she excelled after graduating from New York, to sports, reflects her unwavering commitment to empowerment and talent development, especially among women and children.

Kapoor’s story began in 2013 in Mumbai, where she pioneered a platform in the education space, empowering individuals aspiring for creative careers.

“That was an ecosystem which I was building in the education arena for aspiring young designers. It's pretty much been a common theme because, for me personally, both have been about empowering and uplifting young talent. The goal has been the same. The mission has been the same,” she tells you.

Kapoor’s foray into the Pro Kabaddi League, she says, was driven by a deep-seated passion for promoting indigenous sports and nurturing young talent.

"I've always believed in the power of sports to empower individuals and uplift communities, especially from less privileged backgrounds. Kabaddi, being a true Indian sport, resonated with me as a platform to showcase our rich made-in-India sporting heritage," Kapoor says.

“How do we take this to an even larger global scale for it to gain more popularity, more awareness? There's so much talent out there. Some schools are bringing it back as well,” she adds.

Kapoor’s decision to focus on kabaddi over the more established sports teams in Cricket or Badminton was rooted in a desire to make a meaningful impact in an underappreciated homegrown sport. She saw kabaddi as an opportunity to provide stable careers and recognition to talented individuals who often go unnoticed in mainstream sports.

"I wanted to venture into something new, something that could make a difference. Kabaddi presented that opportunity to not just promote a sport but also uplift grassroots talent and lives," Radha explains.

A lot more support was needed for kabaddi to bring it to where it is today. A lot more work needs to be done, but as a team owner, the ecosystem has been created now. We now need to quite keenly look at helping sort out, groom and create careers for this talent in a relatively unsung sport like this one, she says.

Ask her how many women she can find in the kabaddi league at any level and she said there are none, except a couple on the administrative side. There are no team owners that are women, no nutritionists, no managers, not even physiotherapists.

But that has seldom ruffled Kapoor who, as a team owner, is deeply involved in nurturing talent and promoting grassroots development. Her long-term goals where kabaddi is concerned are to establish an academy to groom young talent and prepare them for professional kabaddi leagues and also look at expanding the sport to women.

Kapoor is now looking at getting women, especially the girl child interested in the sport. We can start with that as a side thing so that the sport is not just once a year for three months but keep it throughout the year through initial women's tournaments at the grassroots level and then scale them up.

"Our goal is to create a sustainable pipeline of talent, ensuring that kabaddi remains a viable career option for aspiring athletes," Kapoor says.

The idea, Kapoor says, “is to initiate a lot more than what we're already doing. One is, of course, the team's requirements, whether it's searching for young raiders and defenders or, on a larger scale, go more grassroots and get these guys on young and early on so we can help them get get viable careers,” she says, emphasising the need for shifting the gaze from just gameplay to earning a livelihood through it.

Despite facing challenges in a male-dominated field, Kapoor has broken barriers and gained respect in the team through her leadership qualities, empathy, knowledge of the sport and vision. She emphasises the importance of treating all talent equally and fostering a family-like rapport with players.

In her own silent but firm way, Kapoor focuses on the unique skill sets of her players and strives to focus on bringing out the extraordinary in them, even if they are established stars. “The emphasis of the team management is constant grooming and pushing boundaries,” she says.

In her own silent but firm way, Kapoor focuses on the unique skill sets of her players and strives to focus on bringing out the extraordinary in them, even if they are established stars. “The emphasis of the team management is constant grooming and pushing boundaries,” she says.

Brainstorming, a relook at past mistakes to build strategy, talent hunt, growth, boosting fitness levels and mental toughness –that’s how Kapoor keeps in touch with the players in a sport which she points out is a highly injury-prone game.

Her perfect world is one which can create a supportive environment where everyone feels valued and respected. “It's not just about the sport, it's about empowering individuals to reach their full potential," she asserts.

Kapoor’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of passion, perseverance and empowerment. Her dedication to promoting kabaddi reflects her unwavering commitment to creating a more inclusive and empowering world through sports.

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