When SJ Uplift Kabaddi Private Limited incorporated in late 2023 out of Uttar Pradesh, it wasn’t just launching a company—it was staking out a vision: build modern, franchise-first kabaddi ecosystems that start in India’s heartland and scale to the world.

At the center of that push is founder-director Sambhav Jain, who speaks about kabaddi not as a niche sport but as a cultural force ready for prime time. His north star has been consistent from day one: professionalize the game, build year-round IP, and take kabaddi international—with an eye on Olympic inclusion.

Jain’s first proving ground was the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League (UPKL)—a state-rooted initiative designed to unearth talent from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, package it with strong broadcast and brand partnerships, and turn local heroes into household names.

Season 1 drew massive TV viewership and hundreds of millions of digital impressions, with distribution across major sports networks—setting up a credible commercial base for scale.

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The founders’ road: conviction, scrappiness, and a ladder for players

Jain blends evangelism with execution. His structured playbook focuses on aligning with national and international federations, building a franchise model attractive to investors and athletes, and obsessing over pathways so small-town talent can climb from local mats to international arenas.

That “pipeline” thinking—coaches, referees, sports science, media training, and life-skills programs—has been central to SJ Uplift’s identity.

Alongside Jain is Aman Saxena, a director and co-founding figure who has been part of the journey since incorporation. While Jain has become the public face and strategist, Saxena’s early stewardship reflects the hustle of a compact founding team: setting up the entity, aligning with partners, and keeping the operational wheels turning as the company moved from paperwork to packed arenas.

The founders’ personal touch shows up most clearly in how they talk about people. Jain often returns to the same theme: kabaddi’s soul is in the akharas and college grounds; the job is to give that soul a stage, a salary, and a story.

That empathy threads through UPKL’s mentoring focus and the decision to elevate on-the-ground leaders like Simran Malik to COO after she helped steer Season 1—recognizing homegrown operational excellence rather than parachuting it in.

Building a brand: UPKL’s breakout and the ₹238 crore signal

After its debut, SJ Uplift pegged UPKL’s valuation at ₹238 crore, citing the league’s traction across TV and digital. Valuations don’t build themselves: beyond distribution, UPKL stitched together brand associations and leaned into narrative-led marketing.

The message was clear—kabaddi isn’t just a sport to be watched; it’s a community to belong to. The number became an external marker of the internal belief system Jain and Saxena shared from day one.

What made that signal matter was who tuned in. UPKL resonated in smaller towns and cities—where kabaddi is lived, not just streamed. By politicizing neither geography nor glamour, SJ Uplift found its sweet spot: regional pride with national production values. That duality—intimate and ambitious—has become the company’s brand DNA.

The next horizon: WSKL and the case for going global

With the World Super Kabaddi League (WSKL) slated to debut internationally, SJ Uplift is attempting something audacious: turn kabaddi into a truly international property with a franchise model, eight teams, and a substantial player purse in Season 1—inviting participation from established kabaddi nations like South Korea, Iran, Thailand, and Japan, as well as North American markets. Jain frames it as a ten-year bet, not a one-season stunt.

What’s striking is the method: federation alignment for legitimacy and calendars, tech-driven fan engagement for youth reach, and athlete development to create globally recognizable kabaddi stars.

WSKL’s design mirrors UPKL’s ethos—local ladders, global stage—but with a bigger canvas and more stakeholders.

Culture to commerce: why SJ Uplift’s story resonates

Founders who build enduring sports IP tend to do three things well: protect the sport’s core, expand its audience, and make the economics work. SJ Uplift’s narrative hits all three.

The core is protected through grassroots focus and year-round development; the audience expands via broadcast, digital IP, and personality-led storytelling; and the economics find footing in valuation milestones, franchise interest, and multi-market growth plans.

It’s also a deeply human story. Jain’s voice—equal parts believer and builder—keeps the company anchored in purpose. Saxena’s behind-the-scenes steadiness gives that purpose a chassis.

And leaders like Simran Malik rising from within signal a culture that rewards contribution over titles. If UPKL was the rehearsal and the ₹238 crore valuation the applause, WSKL is the world tour that follows—ambitious, collaborative, and very much in character for a startup that began, quite literally, in a market shop and now thinks in continents.

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