For centuries, shirtless and shoeless young warriors gathered and grappled on patches of muddy ground near the foot of the Himalayas, practicing the ancient contact sport of Kabaddi.
For the most part it was unchanged, and uncomplicated. Like other popular sports in India, though, the modern transformation has been rapid, driven by commercial opportunities and with the intention of going global.
Now there’s two professional leagues one in India and another which recently kicked off in London.
So far, they’re following the formula. Bollywood film stars have been roped in as owners or promoters, elaborate marketing plans have been rolled out and live broadcasting deals done.
Kabaddi League chief executive Raman Raheja explains, “There are some 200 kabaddi clubs ... and only half of them are in India,” he said. “They’re all surviving on ticket sales without government support or sponsorship. That got us thinking and we decided to integrate the fragmented world of kabaddi.”
There’s no all–embracing world governing body for the physical, tag–like game of Kabaddi, and the World Kabaddi League and Pro Kabaddi League have slightly different formats.
The seven-a–side version that is popular in south Asia and has been a regular medal sport in the Asian Games since 1990. One team sends a raider into the rival half of the field to gain points by tackling, wrestling, grabbing or tagging opponents while chanting ‘kabaddi’ in a single breath. In the meantime, he tries to touch opposing players and then return to his own half to earn points. If he makes it back, the players he touched are out of the game.
Teams take turns to send raiders, with the aim of the defending team to either evade the raider or tackle him in such a way that he can’t return to his side before running out of breath.
It became popular, particularly in north-western India, because it requires little more than a square piece of land about half the size of a basketball court for matches, and can be played indoors or out, on the beach, on grass, dirt or mud.
But the newer versions are played on synthetic mats and chants of kabaddi have been replaced by a 30–second time limit for each raid. The players also wear shirts providing space for sponsors’ logos, naturally while electronic scoreboards lend a contemporary look to venues.
While the Pro Kabaddi League is affiliated with the International Kabaddi Federation and follows the format used at the Asian Games, the World Kabaddi League allows only one person per team to wrestle with the raider.
The two pro leagues are generating plenty of interest.
