The Kabaddi World Cup is one of the biggest tournaments in the sport of Kabaddi. India will be hosting the 3rd edition of the tournament next month which will take place at The Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad, India.
The tournament will see 12 international teams from India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Kenya, Iran, England, USA, Thailand, Bangladesh, Poland and Argentina battling it out for the world title. India has been the winner of the first three editions of the World Cup and will be looking to add to their supremacy when they take to the mat on 7th October in their first game against South Korea.
But before the tournament begins, we look at some of the interesting facts about the Kabaddi World Cup:
#1 Origin
The Kabaddi World Cup is one of the most famous events in the sport and is one of the most popular games in Asian countries. However, the sport is now being played by nations from every continent on the planet. But the origin of the sport goes back a long way. Kabaddi is said to be an ancient game whose name has been derived from the Tamil word “Kai Pidi” which implies “Hold Hands”.
The sport, generally, is a physical contact sport which is basically played in the mud or on a court between two teams. The ever so interesting fact about the sport is that the players in this game are all bulky, muscular and athletic. The fitness level of players is not measured by the distance they can run, rather they have to be quick in small spaces while also having the capability to run over the opposition through pure strength when required to.
It is also said that the sport was first played 4000 years ago. However, with time, the game has reached even the United States of America and parts of Europe.
#2 This format is different from the circle format
Kabaddi has two main formats – the 'International Rules Kabaddi' which will be followed at this year’s World Cup, and the 'Circle-style Kabaddi' which you can see mostly in Punjab. However, the main features of both the formats remain the same, but the rules vary between the two.
In the International Rules Kabaddi, a rectangular court measuring 13×10 metres is used. While in the Circle-style Kabaddi, a circular pitch that is made up of sand or mud is used which has a radius of 11 metres. Both the formats have their own separate World Cups, therefore we should not confuse this World Cup with the circle format World Cup which takes place in India almost every year.
In the ancient times, there were a total of three styles which prevailed in India – known as Amar, Sanjeevani and Gaminee. But the modern day kabaddi is a mixture of all the three styles with a few changes in the rules and regulations of the sport.
#3 Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh
It is known that the sport of kabaddi had started in Tamil Nadu in the ancient generations, but the popularity of the sport has now reached a new high as it is now being played in different parts of the world. The sport did not use to have a lot of playing nations in the late 90s as well, but after the turn of the century, the sport has risen to great heights.
The sport now has teams from all the continents with India leading the way. But neighbouring nations have joined in to make it even more interesting for the fans of the sport. Bangladesh is one such nation which has made kabaddi, their national sport. Pakistan is also a nation that is always ranked amongst the top kabaddi playing nations but unfortunately, they will not be participating in this year’s World Cup due to the ongoing turmoil between the two neighbours.
In India, states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Punjab, have all named the sport as their state sport due to the popularity among the masses. Such positive news for the sport will only help it to grow in the future as it is one of the most interesting and easy-to-follow sports.
#4 This edition of the Kabaddi World Cup is only the third
Contrary to many people’s knowledge about the Kabaddi World Cup, this year’s edition of the tournament will only be the third overall to have ever taken place. The very first edition of the World Cup was played back in 2004 and it was then held in 2007. Hence, the International Kabaddi Federation decided to make the World Cup similar to the ones played in football, cricket and other sports.
The IKF had decided on organising the World Cup every four years and hence the third World Cup was scheduled to take place in 2011 but was later postponed. They planned on organising the next World Cup last year in 2015 in Punjab. However, due to the social unrest in the state, the tournament had to be rescheduled to 2016 and was shifted to the state of Gujarat.
However, the sport is being played in the Asian Games since the year 1990 where India have been dominant as usual. The country has seen itself winning a total of 7 gold medals in the sport, which sees them occupying the first position in the rankings.
Bangladesh is ranked number two as they have won 3 silver medals. Tournaments such as the Asia Kabaddi Cup have also taken place which was first held in Iran in 2011. It was later held in 2012 in Lahore, Pakistan where the hosts defeated India in the finals.
#5 The format of the game
Kabaddi is a very simple game to follow if you are watching it for the first time. The game sees each team having a squad of 10 to 12 players, out of which, only 7 players are allowed to be present on the mat for each team while the rest 5 are used as substitutes.
Every match is played for a minimum of 40 minutes which are divided into two halves of 20 minutes each. The teams can make changes to their 7 players on the mat during the half time break. The teams score points in the form of raids and defending – one player from a team is supposed to go to the opposition’s half chanting “Kabaddi, Kabaddi, Kabaddi..” until he can touch one opponent player or reach any of the two lines which are marked on the mat.
If the player is successful in returning back after touching the line or touching an opponent, then he is awarded the points. However, if the player fails to make it back to the half line when the opponents grab him, then the referee blows his whistle, the opponent team will receive one point, and the player is declared as “out”.
The sport includes the grant of two points to either team who manages to get all the seven players of the opposition “out”. At the end of the game, the team with the more points is declared as the winner of the match.
