Kolkata: In wake of recent events propelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, Kabaddi Adda has launched its new mental health campaign to build a greater support system for the player community at the grassroots.
The campaign ‘Mann Ki Jeet’, has been supported by the biggest names in kabaddi including, the Indian Kabaddi Team former captain Ajay Thakur, along with the award-winning national players like BC Ramesh, Ashok Shinde, Rishank Devadiga, current Indian captain Deepak Niwas Hooda, veteran Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Dronacharya Awardee coach Rambir Singh Khokhar, alongside the CEOs of the Pro Kabaddi League.
NIMHANS Bangalore, former dean and senior professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Santosh Kumar Chaturvedi, and other prominent doctors will also be on board.
The campaign, which has three 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 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 learnings and experiences.
"I too have been suffering from anxiety and depression since the pandemic," shares the ace kabaddi player and one of the leading voices of the initiative, Ajay Thakur. "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 Kabaddi Adda as episodic pieces for subscribers of the platform. Edited excerpts of these conversations will also be available on its official social platforms.
