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Kabaddi is a sport that originated in ancient India. It has been played in our country for hundreds of years. There is a mention of kabaddi even in the ancient Indian epic – the Mahabharata. There are various forms of kabaddi played in our country, like the Sanjeevani, the Amar, and the Punjabi. The game is also played in other countries and is known by different names like Hadudu in Bangaldesh and Baibalaa in Madives.
Kabaddi is very popular in the states of Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab. On the world stage, the Indian national team has been the most successful, having won all the World Cups and Asian games so far, in both the men’s and women’s category. The first Asian Kabaddi Championship was held in the year in 1980, and India emerged as the champions of the inaugural edition, having beaten Bangladesh in the finals.
India’s dominance at the Asian Games
India’s performance in the Asian Games in the game of kabaddi has been phenomenal. The game was played for the first time in Asian Games in 1990, which took place in Beijing. India won the gold medal in the Games, and has been doing so ever since in all the Asian Games that have taken place over the years, winning seven gold medals on the trot.
They beat Bangladesh in the final of the first two editions of the Asian Games while neighbours Pakistan were the victims in 1998 in Bangkok. India clashed against familiar foes Bangladesh in the final of the 2002 Games at Busan.
At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Indian played Pakistan in the final, and dominated the match by winning 35-23. Rising at an astonishing pace, Iran reached the final of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, but came up short against the immovable object – the Indian national kabaddi team, with the scoreline reading 37-20 in India’s favour.
The 2014 Asian Games final was the most competitive till date as Iran suffered a narrow 27-25 defeat against India. The West Asian country were leading on plenty of occasions and it looked like they would create history by becoming the first nation apart from India to win the Asian Games gold when the score was 25-24 in India’s favour in the final minute. A tackle by the Indians on the Iranian raider in the final action of the match ensured India were victorious for the record 7th time.
India has also remained undefeated in the Asian Indoor Games in kabaddi. India won the gold medal in the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau, defeating Pakistan 35-17 in the finals while retaining the gold at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi, beating Iran 57-33 in the finals.
The women are not far behind
The Indian Men’s Kabaddi team has had very strong results to show at the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games. India has won seven of the eight possible gold medals in the sport until the 2006 SAF Games. The only time India failed to win the gold was in 1993, when they had to settle with the second position as they lost to Pakistan in the final. On the other 7 occasions when the event was held from 1985 to 2010, India took the top spot.
It is not just the men who have been making the nation proud, the Indian women’s kabaddi team has won both the gold medals on offer at the Asian Games, since women’s kabaddi was introduced at the multi-sport event in 2010. India defeated Thailand 28-14 in the final of the inaugural edition while Iran were crushed 30-21 in Incheon, South Korea in 2014. The Indian women's team also won the gold medal in the South Asian Games in 2010, beating Bangladesh in the finals.
The popularity of the sport in India and the success of the men’s and women’s teams has led to the birth of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League, a tournament which was played for the first time in 2014 in India. The tournament follows the same format as that of the Asian Games. The tournament has eight teams representing various parts of the country competing for the championship.
