Punjab kabaddi players get Rs 1 crore insurance cover valid worldwide

Seven of Punjab’s best-known kabaddi players have been insured for Rs 1 crore each against illness, injury and accident, in what The Tribune reported on Thursday, 5 November, as a first for Punjab kabaddi. The cover is valid anywhere in the world and runs for three years.

The policy has been arranged by Inderjit Singh Sekhon, a former player turned promoter and tournament organiser from Phulanwal village in Ludhiana, whose own playing career ended after a single leg injury.

The players covered so far are Bullet Khiranwali, Amba Soor Singh, Amrit Aulakh, Chhota Nath, Dulla Chattha, Jaggu Hakamwalian and Fateh Jand, all well-known names on the circuit.

One leg injury ended Sekhon’s career

Sekhon came up through his village team, went on to play for the Punjab State Electricity Board and later featured in international matches, including a famous one against Pakistan in the 1990s. Then, in one match, he injured his leg and never played again.

He has said the insurance comes out of that experience rather than any business motive. “In those days, kabaddi was not a rich game like it is today. Players did not have money for good treatment of their injuries. Later, I started a real estate business, and for the last couple of years I have been organising kabaddi tournaments. Despite the money now in the game, I still see young players suffering for want of funds for treatment. Or they spend all their earnings on treatment. This is where the insurance will be a game-changer,” Sekhon said.

He also said players have long been shortchanged by organisers and treated as “property”.

Why worldwide cover matters on the Punjab circuit

The global validity is more than a footnote. According to The Tribune, Punjab’s top players spend much of the year on overseas tours, where an injury can mean heavy hospital bills far from home.

There is a second financial risk. Players on the circuit are paid per match rather than through the year, and a top player can earn up to Rs 1 crore a season if he stays injury-free, the report said. A serious injury can wipe out that income overnight, which is exactly the gap a policy covering treatment and accidents is meant to soften.

That combination, a contact sport with constant injury risk and a pay structure with no cushion for time out, has left players exposed for years. Sekhon’s argument is that the money now flowing into the game has not reached the point where players can afford to get hurt.

Commentator Chahal calls it the first insured kabaddi player

Those who follow the game closely have welcomed the move as overdue. Dr Sukhdarshan Singh Chahal, a kabaddi commentator and author of many books on the sport, said this was the first time any kabaddi player had been insured.

“Kabaddi is a high-intensity, body-contact game, and injuries are normal. Insurance will help players get timely and effective medical treatment. I have been commentating on kabaddi for long and have seen many careers destroyed by injuries,” Chahal said.

The cover is a private initiative by one organiser rather than a scheme run by a federation or league, and it currently extends to seven players. The report described these as the players covered so far, but did not say whether more names will be added or when.

For now, Bullet Khiranwali, Amba Soor Singh, Amrit Aulakh, Chhota Nath, Dulla Chattha, Jaggu Hakamwalian and Fateh Jand will carry Rs 1 crore of protection each wherever they play for the next three years.