CHENNAI: The origins of kabaddi may lie in its Sanskrit version, ‘kar-badhi’, which means holding hands or in the Tamil version of ‘kai pidi’, meaning hold hands. But Kabaddi has evolved over centuries from being a village game to an international sport and, has now launched a league, like IPL is for cricket. Actor Abhishek Bachchan was recently seen cheering along with supporters from the film fraternity for his team, Jaipur Pink Panthers, at the Pro Kabaddi League (launched on July 26), which would give you an idea of the rising popularity of the sport.
The game
Kabaddi is a game of attack and defence. The attack is known as ‘raid’ and the attacker is called the ‘raider’. The game involves an attack which is an individual effort, while defence is a combined effort. Rampal Kaushik, coach for the Puneri Paltan team that represents Pune, Maharashtra, is elated to tell us how kabaddi can be the next big option for youngsters who aren’t afraid of this rather aggressive body contact game. He is currently touring the country, taking part in the Pro Kabaddi League championship.
Origins
Kabaddi dates back to ancient times, played in different forms. The modern version of the game has been played all over India and some parts of South Asia from 1930. The first known framework of the rules of kabaddi, as an indigenous sport of India, was prepared in Maharashtra in 1921 for Kabaddi competitions, combining the patterns of Suranjeevi and Gamini (forms of the game). The Amar and Huttutoo are also forms of the game practised in other parts of the globe. A committee constituted in 1923 formally laid down the rules of the game and it led to the All India Kabaddi Tournament in 1923.
The four forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, Huttuttoo, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, Haryana, America, Canada, and other parts of the world, mostly by Punjabi sportsmen. Suranjeevi is the most played form of kabaddi in India and the world. This is the form used in international matches generally and played in Asian Games. Huttuttoo is played by men in Maharashtra State.
Present day
India won the Kabaddi World Championship in 2007, beating Iran 29-19. India is also the host to the world’s first Kabaddi League. The league follows the Formula 1 touring sports format and will be played across four continents starting from August to December this year.
“Playing kabaddi requires a quick mind, endurance, physical strength and great team spirit,” says Kaushik who leads the team of 12. He started playing the sport in his village, Bapora, Haryana. His passion was taken forward as he played for school and college and went on to get a diploma in coaching from the Sports Authority of India in 1993. Since then, he has been coaching teams to bring back laurels — be it winning gold at the 34th national Games held in Ranchi or medals by the Hyderabad team at the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India’s Kabaddi Premier League of 2011.
Puneri Paltan is owned by Insurekot Sports. Eight teams are being represented in this tournament — Puneri Paltan, Bengal Warriors, Bengaluru Bulls, Dabang Delhi, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, Telugu Titans and U Mumba.
The tournament is being telecast on the Start Sports channel.
There are several sports academies and universities that offer the option of playing kabaddi in the country, including Anna University and University of Mumbai. The Association of Indian Universities too organises kabaddi tournaments. Coach Kaushik suggests you begin training at age 12 in school. He says the teams from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh display great talent and have good coaches at the college levels. “There is great scope for the sport, especially now. We play to packed stadiums now, where tickets are even sold in black. Investment in the sport and attention from the media has helped bring us to the limelight.”
The Pro Kabaddi League was launched by the International Kabaddi Federation at the National Sports Club of India last month. Kaushik believes his team needs to work on improving the defence as they are good with offence and have reached the semi-finals. They are yet to play in Pune, New Delhi and Patna. The major challenge now is to get Kabbadi to become an Olympic sport. “At least 50 countries need to play a sport to be recognised in the Olympics. Currently, we only have 33 countries. But this situation will improve in another three years,” he says optimistically. For a sport that involves more aggression than football, he believes the support it has received is very high. The Pro Kabaddi League is set to further advance the sport’s reputation and reach at the international level.
— preethi@newindianexpress.com