New Delhi, June 20 -- "It's four minutes per quarter. There are tackles, running, muscle, shouting, grunting, people fall, blood is oozing out-kabaddi will not see that. Kabaddi only has some holding."

Srinath Chittoori's description of rugby 7s is not a criticism of kabaddi, but as a reference marker of what he wants audiences to expect. The co-owner of KLO Sports has just bought a team, Hyderabad Heroes, in the GMR Rugby Premier League (RPL), the latest in the assembly line of sports leagues that sprout periodically-and optimistically-in the country.

On Sunday, at Mumbai's Andheri Sports Complex, on the opening evening of the league that ends on 29 June, a few hundred people gathered under a cloudy sky to watch the first three matches...