# Anyone familiar with Kabaddi?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [November 5, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430 "2022-11-05T16:34:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/1 "2022-11-05T16:34:54Z")
I was roaming the offerings of ESPN+, waiting for my soccer match to start, when I came across this sport that I had literally never heard of before.
Basically, I would describe it as a very fast, physical game of team tag on a small court. After watching only 45 minutes or so of it, I would also describe it as very tactical.
Anybody else aware of this game and have any insight on what it’s like? All the matches I found were in India, and Wikipedia says that’s basically where it is, but I’m interested in any additional color on it.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/2 "2022-11-05T21:27:10Z")
I watched the games when I was Bangalore for work, it’s pretty much only Indian and mostly rural India. The players are chanting “kabaddi, kabaddi” when on the opposing side of the court to demonstrate to the refs that they’re holding their breath. You can’t breath when in enemy territory.
I’ve been trying to pick up a Bangalore Bulls jersey but they’re really hard to find online. Next time I’m over there I plan to get one.
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/3 "2022-11-05T21:39:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> it’s pretty much only Indian and mostly rural India.
I’m from Pakistan, and we certainly had a lot of Kabbaddi events in the cities during the 70s and 80s.
This is the first I’ve heard about it organized on this scale though!
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### Author:  [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/4 "2022-11-05T21:42:35Z")
The UK TV station Channel 4 briefly showed some Kabaddi about 30 years ago.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/5 "2022-11-06T02:53:13Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#):
>
> I’m from Pakistan, and we certainly had a lot of Kabbaddi events in the cities during the 70s and 80s.
My Indian coworkers didn’t mention that, but it makes sense.
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#):
>
> This is the first I’ve heard about it organized on this scale though!
There’s actually a Kabaddi World Cup.
> **[Kabaddi World cup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabaddi_World_Cup_(Standard_style))**
>
> The Kabaddi World Cup, is an indoor international Kabaddi competition conducted by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) in a standard style, contested by men's and women's national teams. The competition has been previously contested in 2004, 2007, 2016. All three tournaments have been won by India. In 2012, the very first Kabaddi World Cup for women was held in India. The current format of the competition involves a round-robin group stage, with 5 teams in 2 pools, with the first and secon...
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/6 "2022-11-06T03:04:33Z")
I think the first I heard of it was in [this bit from QI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aAzgGZ1iBs&t=135s), in which Nish Kumar describes it.
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### Author:  [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/7 "2022-11-06T03:43:13Z")
I’d heard of it and watched a clip, but it didn’t seem too interesting. The whole breathing bit and how it’s supposedly enforced through chanting seems utterly nonsensical to me. I don’t see how doing that chanting would prevent you from breathing in, or at least using circle breathing techniques. I’ve been told that it works perfectly fine, but from the clip I watched it wasn’t too apparent.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/8 "2022-11-06T05:14:14Z")
Thanks for all the comments. I don’t think I’ll become a regular watcher, but it does lurk down at the end of live events on ESPN plus semi-regularly, so I will drop in from time to time.
I _am_ curious if there are, like, kabaddi stars, or dominant teams, so I will read a little more about it.
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### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/9 "2022-11-06T07:59:44Z")
Pakistan beat India in the World Cup Final of 2020. Almost the last major stadium event before COVID hit
I was at the match.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-bq3adcnpA)
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/10 "2022-11-06T18:57:53Z")
Things I learn.
I’ve been on several WhatsApp groups with about 50 classmates from school, college and university and other social groups from the time I was in Pakistan (35+ years ago) for about 8 years. Many of them are still in Pakistan. Kabbaddi has never come up. Cricket and football a lot, a smattering of hockey and squash, tennis during the grand slams, but somehow never kabbaddi. Has there always been kabbaddi organized along formal lines on a large scale (e.g. televised, professional clubs with coaching, managers and physios)? Or is this a recent development?
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/11 "2022-11-06T21:22:31Z")
Looks like the Pro Kabaddi League started in 2014.
> **[Pro Kabaddi League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Kabaddi_League)**
>
> Pro Kabaddi League (also known as Vivo Pro Kabbadi for sponsorship reasons) or abbreviated to PKL is an Indian men's professional Kabaddi league. It was launched in 2014 and is broadcast on Star Sports. However, Season 8 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the season commenced on 22 December 2021.
> The league's inception was influenced by the popularity of the Kabaddi tournament at the 2006 Asian Games. The format of the competition was influenced by the Indian Premier League. The Pr...
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/12 "2022-11-06T21:27:35Z")
I recall first hearing about kabaddi when it was featured as a demonstration sport during some summer Olympics. I can’t recall exactly when but I think it was in the 1990s.
There was some coverage about it at the time.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/13 "2022-11-06T21:29:22Z")
Oh wow, that sounds interesting.
The one I watched on TV was indoor, this outdoor championship looks oddly less professional, and more rough. Either way, fun to watch for a few minutes.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/14 "2022-11-07T02:09:08Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> I recall first hearing about kabaddi when it was featured as a demonstration sport during some summer Olympics.
As far as I can tell, it’s never been an official Olympic demonstration sport. It was at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, but I don’t think they had official demonstration sports back then. But it got more attention by being included as a demo sport at the Asian games in 1951 and 1982, and then becoming a medal sport in 1990.
> **[Was kabaddi in Olympics? Here’s the truth](https://olympics.com/en/news/kabaddi-in-olympics-berlin-1936-exhibition-sport)**
>
> Kabaddi was never an official part of the 1936 Olympics but the Berlin Games gave India’s indigenous sport the platform it needed to grow globally.
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### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [November 7, 2022, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-kabaddi/974430/15 "2022-11-07T05:45:19Z")
No, no. I just happened to be in Lahore for work and nearby [Fortress Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_Stadium_(Lahore)) when it was on. So dropped in to see it.
I have a rather personal link with Kabbadi though, my father was an Army officer and it’s a popular sport amongst the ranks. I was at one match where my Dads regiment team won unexpectedly. After that the men decided that the CO’s son was a good luck charm so I had to be at every game. We won the Corps championship that year. After that, whatever sport the regiment was playing, hockey, volleyball, basketball. “CO’s son has to be there"