Did you watch the Pro Kabaddi League action from Mumbai on Fox Sports 2 the
other night? I mean, didn't we all?
The Pro “what” League? That’s right, the largely forgotten game of kabaddi has surged in popularity in India and across the Subcontinent, due largely to flashy television broadcasts modeled after the made-for-TV success of India’s Twenty20 Cricket Premier League – complete with cheerleaders and boisterous announcers, no less. Mumbai is suffering through its own rain and flooding deluge these days, so the Pro Kabaddi League even had to cancel two matches on Tuesday night, one of them featuring host U Mumba against the Gujarat Fortune Giants.
Kabaddi is a contact sport played in many formats over thousands of years. It can look odd and even comical to most of us not from South Asia, at times appearing to be some kind of ceremonial dance. To get a feel for the game, watch highlights from the 2016 National Kabaddi Championships at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBKIUuoeYPk&t=309s or the link below.
Let there be no doubt, however, of the game’s popularity in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and their diaspora worldwide. Kabaddi is even the national sport of Pakistan. It’s a lucrative TV ratings bonanza in India, too, with television coverage of a 37-day tournament in 2014 generating 435 million viewers. Kabaddi has its outposts around the U.S., as well, with matches routinely played by expats in Cunningham Park in Queens, NY. Interestingly, it was a demonstration sport at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Kabaddi fields both male and female teams. In standard Pro League play, a “raider” on offense attacks seven defenders. The raider enters the opposing team’s side of the indoor court, crosses the equivalent of ice hockey’s red line and attempts to “tag” as many defenders as possible, using his or her hands or feet. Kicking does seem to be strongly encouraged. A tagged defender must leave the court. Raiders have 30 seconds to return to their side of the court and, for reasons that elude me and really make me laugh, they must constantly chant “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” out loud. Perhaps this is to remind them what sport they are playing. Defenders can score points, too, by tackling the raider. That’s when the game quickly shifts from the silly to the brutal.
It’s a little bit of schoolyard tag, rugby, wrestling and Thai kickboxing all rolled into one. I have long been fascinated by unusual sports and games around the world and really do remember first reading about kabaddi in the Oxford Companion to World Sports and Games as a kid at the old Medford Public Library just outside of Boston.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBKIUuoeYPk&t=309s
The Pro “what” League? That’s right, the largely forgotten game of kabaddi has surged in popularity in India and across the Subcontinent, due largely to flashy television broadcasts modeled after the made-for-TV success of India’s Twenty20 Cricket Premier League – complete with cheerleaders and boisterous announcers, no less. Mumbai is suffering through its own rain and flooding deluge these days, so the Pro Kabaddi League even had to cancel two matches on Tuesday night, one of them featuring host U Mumba against the Gujarat Fortune Giants.
Kabaddi is a contact sport played in many formats over thousands of years. It can look odd and even comical to most of us not from South Asia, at times appearing to be some kind of ceremonial dance. To get a feel for the game, watch highlights from the 2016 National Kabaddi Championships at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBKIUuoeYPk&t=309s or the link below.
Let there be no doubt, however, of the game’s popularity in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and their diaspora worldwide. Kabaddi is even the national sport of Pakistan. It’s a lucrative TV ratings bonanza in India, too, with television coverage of a 37-day tournament in 2014 generating 435 million viewers. Kabaddi has its outposts around the U.S., as well, with matches routinely played by expats in Cunningham Park in Queens, NY. Interestingly, it was a demonstration sport at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Kabaddi fields both male and female teams. In standard Pro League play, a “raider” on offense attacks seven defenders. The raider enters the opposing team’s side of the indoor court, crosses the equivalent of ice hockey’s red line and attempts to “tag” as many defenders as possible, using his or her hands or feet. Kicking does seem to be strongly encouraged. A tagged defender must leave the court. Raiders have 30 seconds to return to their side of the court and, for reasons that elude me and really make me laugh, they must constantly chant “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” out loud. Perhaps this is to remind them what sport they are playing. Defenders can score points, too, by tackling the raider. That’s when the game quickly shifts from the silly to the brutal.
It’s a little bit of schoolyard tag, rugby, wrestling and Thai kickboxing all rolled into one. I have long been fascinated by unusual sports and games around the world and really do remember first reading about kabaddi in the Oxford Companion to World Sports and Games as a kid at the old Medford Public Library just outside of Boston.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBKIUuoeYPk&t=309s
Image courtesy of the IB Times India.