Kabaddi, is a contact sport, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most popular sports in India, played mainly among people in villages. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi, and won gold in all of them. Four forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, huttuttoo, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, Haryana, the United States, 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 was played by men in Maharashtra. In Gaminee style, seven players play on each side and a player put out has to remain out until all his team members are out. The team that is successful in outing all the players of the opponent's side secures a point. The game continues until five or seven such points are secured and has no fixed time duration.
History and development
Kabaddi is a sport developed centered on Jallikattu. It was common among the Ayar tribal people who lived in the Mullai geographical region of ancient Tamil Nadu. A player going to the opposition is treated like a Bull. It is like taming a bull without touching it, as it is mentioned in Sangam Literature that the game Sadugudu was practiced for ages. There are also accounts of Gautam Buddha having played the game recreationally. There is another version to this sports origins and rich history, Legend has it that kabaddi originated in Tamil Nadu over 4,000 years ago.
The game was said to have been popular among the Yadava people. An Abhang by Tukaram stated that the lord Krishna played the game in his youth.
Modern kabaddi is a synthesis of the game played in various forms under different names. Kabaddi received international exposure during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The game was introduced in the Indian Olympic Games at Calcutta in 1938.
In 1950 the All India Kabaddi Federation came into existence and compiled standard rules. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) was founded in 1973. After formation of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, the first men's nationals were held in Tamil Nadu (Madras) (renamed Chennai), while the women's were in AKFI has given new shape to the rules.
The Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF) was founded under the chairmanship of kabaddi.
In 1979, a return test between Bangladesh and India was held at different places of India including Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Punjab. The Asian Kabaddi Championship was arranged in 1980 and India emerged as champion and Bangladesh runner-up. Bangladesh became runner-up again in 1985 in the Asian Kabaddi Championship held in Jaipur, India. The other teams in the tournament were Nepal, Malaysia and Japan. The game was included for the first time in the Asian Games in Beijing in 1990. India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh took part. India won the gold medal and has also won gold at the following six Asian Games in Hiroshima in 1994, Bangkok in 1998, Busan in 2002, Doha in 2006 and Guangzhou in 2010.
An attempt to popularise kabaddi in Great Britain was carried out by Channel 4, who commissioned a programme dedicated to the sport. The programme, kabaddi in the early 1990s, however, failed to capture viewer attention despite fixtures such as West Bengal Police versus the Punjab. Kabaddi was axed in 1992. Alt-rock band The Cooper Temple Clause formed a kabbadi team in 2001 and were, at one stage, ranked seventh in the British domestic standings.[10] [better source needed]
In the 1998 Asian games held at Bangkok (Thailand), the Indian kabaddi team clinched the gold medal. The chief coach of the team was former kabaddi player and coach Flt. Lt. S P Singh.
In a major upset, seven-time gold medalist India suffered their first-ever loss in 28 years at the 2018 Asian Games to South Korea in the men's Kabaddi group A game. In the semi-final, Iran sent the seven-time Asiad champions packing with a 27–18 win. India, who took home the bronze for reaching the semi-finals, did not play in the final since the introduction of the Games in the Asiad in 1990 at Beijing.