Sport in India - Kabaddi

Kabaddi

Kabaddi is the national sport in India. It is one of the most popular sports in India, played mainly among people in villages. It is regarded as a team-contact sport as a recreational form of combat training. Two teams occupy opposite halves of a small field and take turns sending a raider into the other half, in order to win points by tagging/wrestling members of the opposing team; the raider then tries to return to his own half while holding his breath and chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" during the whole raid. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi, and won gold in all of them. There are four forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, Huttuttoo, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, Haryana, America, 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 State. Huttuttoo is a much tougher version of kabaddi.

India won the Kabaddi World Championship in 2007, beating Iran 29-19.