Pro Wrestling League players’ auction on Nov 3

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, October 21

It’s time for India’s celebrated wrestling community, led by Olympians Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, to brace up for one of the toughest assignments of their illustrious careers.

No, it’s nothing to do with grappling a Ukrainian or American opponent inside a packed wrestling arena, amid thunderous applause.

Of course, the applause would still be there, but the setting would change to a five-star hotel in Delhi, with some of the country’s leading businessmen and film personalities bidding for wrestlers in a first-of-its-kind players’ auction.

Over 200 wrestlers from 25 countries, including 100 from India, will go under the hammer as the auction for the world’s richest Olympics-style wrestling tournament — Pro Wrestling League (PWL) — is all set to take place in the capital on November 3.

Six franchisees will be looking to stack up their teams with the leading wrestlers from across the globe, as the bidding for the Olympics and World Championships winners starts at $50,000. The league in the inaugural year offers Rs20 crore (over $3 million), including the total prize purse of Rs5 crore.

Each team will acquire a marquee player and the bid will start at Rs50,000. Each team will have 10 players, including four women — a maximum of four overseas players and six Indians.

“I am personally very fond of wrestling as a sport as I played it in my youth and now I embark on a new journey through PWL,” said film actor Dharmendra, who is the owner of the CDR Punjab team.

Three-time women’s world champion Adeline Gray from the US has called the league a “historic move in international wrestling”.

Sushil, a two-time Olympics medallist, said the league would be a big boost to Indian wrestling. “It will be a great boost when the cream of world wrestling comes to India. This will be a great opportunity for our players to travel with them and learn a lot. Besides, the league will keep the focus on the sport and motivate the upcoming wrestlers,” he said.