Why sports is being glam-inated

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Akshay Kumar and Kajal Agarwal at Hockey India League in Delhi

If Indian football is to be made sexy, then it needs to get Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif to play the sport, Bollywood actor Suneil Shetty recently remarked. While his suggestion got support from people who feel that glamour can indeed help football gain popularity in this cricket-obsessed nation, there are others who feel what we need is a passion for the game, grooming of young sports enthusiasts and sport stars as inspiration.

“Different sports/teams have different ambassadors, even if they have no connection with the game whatsoever. It is a way to attract people and make a connection between them and the game. It is a sad truth that in India no other sport is popular other than cricket. Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni are enough to popularise the game. But games like hockey and football need people from showbiz to get audience’s attention. You need help from everywhere to popularise a sport, not just Bollywood, but also from the government, social media and the federation” said former India opener Aakash Chopra.
“You definitely need to glam up sports. That is the reason why IPL is so popular as compared to HIL. When somebody bids for a team, there is always a popularity factor at play. People hardly know about hockey players like they know about cricket players,” said Yash Akhaury, a football lover.
Fashion blogger Akanksha Singhal agrees that although sports lovers will watch football regardless of the presence of glamour, yet there are people who will follow the game if there is glitz and glamour on the field. “In this TRP-driven world, especially in India where cricket outshines other sports, a glam face for football will get the eyeballs. This should not be the case, but alas it remains the ugly truth behind every marketing tactic,” she says.
But designer Jattinn Kochhar disagrees with the whole idea and says, “Bollywood can’t be a solution to every single thing. Even when someone passes away we play a sad Bollywood song. People need to get over their craze with glam and glitz. I can’t expect fashion to be promoted by a cricketer. It is all about awareness. We need to make people aware about other sports that are played in India,” said Kochhar.