Kabaddi

“Sport has the power to change the world – It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than the government in breaking down racial barriers.” Nelson Mandela.

The Indian Embassy in Syria  and the General Sports Federation of Syria recently organized a sport event in Damascus which brought together players from all the different Syrian governorates and Indian embassy staff.What was remarkable about the event was that the sport that brought together all these people was Kabbadi -up till then completely unknown to Syria.  The history of kabaddi can be traced back to some 4,000 years ago in India. And while it has had roots in the country all this time, its spread hasn’t been as deep. Kabaddi is an Indian game in which individuals take turns to chase and try to touch members of the opposing team without being captured by them.

Reem Haddad / Editor-in-Chief

Kabaddi is a popular sport in the Indian Subcontinent. Although unverified, it is learnt from various sources that kabaddi originated from the Vedic period of ancient India. India has been first credited with having helped to popularise kabaddi as a competitive sport, with the first organized competitions occurring in the 1920s,their introduction to the programme of the Indian Olympic Games in 1938, the establishment of the All-India Kabaddi Federation in 1950,and it being played as a demonstration sport inaugural 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi. These developments helped to formalize the sport, which had traditionally been played in villages, for legitimate international competition. After being demonstrated again at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, Kabaddi was added to the Asian Games’ programme beginning in 1990. The game of Kabaddi is now played in almost all the continents. The Kabaddi is even a national game of Bangladesh. India has been a champion in all major Kabaddi competitions being held in the world today. The Indian Women Team in Kabaddi has been World Champion three times and Asia Cup Champion four times it has been played so far.

Kabaddi is basically a combative sport, with seven players on each side; played for a period of 40 minutes with a 5 minutes break (20-5-20). The core idea of the game is to score points by raiding into the opponent’s court and touching as many defense players as possible without getting caught on a single breath.

One player, chanting Kabaddi!!! Kabaddi!!!! Kabaddi!!!! Charges into the opponent court and try to touch the opponent closest to him, while the seven opponents make maneuvers to catch the attacker. In the international team version of kabaddi, two teams of seven members each occupy opposite halves of a court of 10 by 13 metres (33 ft × 43 ft) in case of men and 8 by 12 metres (26 ft × 39 ft) in case of women.

The players on the defensive side are called “Antis” while the player of the offence is called the “Raider”. The attack in Kabaddi is known as a ‘Raid’. The antis touched by the raider during the attack are declared ‘out’ if they do not succeed in catching the raider before he returns to home court. These players can resume play only when their side scores points against the opposite side during their raiding turn or if the remaining players succeed in catching the opponent’s raider.

Courtesy of the Ambassador of India

Mahender Singh Kanyal