Kabaddi: From Mythology To International Fields

Priyanka Rout

Kabaddi: From Mythology To International Fields

A sport with its roots in India has made great strides, and it is sure to make giant leaps in the coming years. That breathless string of Kabaddi on the vast fields, the sand that produces a beautiful smell in the atmosphere, and last but not least, a game that has transformed itself from a rural sport to the craze of millions of people all around the world. Let's look back at where it all started and how this sport became an attention grabber at the international level.

The tale of Kabaddi; Image Source: Dhaka Tribune

There is no out or revive rule in Kabaddi's Amar format. When a player is grabbed, goes out of bounds, or is caught, he is not taken off the court, but the other team is awarded a point. The resurgence and our rule are in action in the Surjaveeni format. When a player is touched, runs out of limits, or is caught, they are ejected off the court. The opposing team is rewarded points in addition to having their out players resurrected. In the Gaminee format, a player who is touched, caught, or out of bounds must stay out until all of his teammates are out. A point is awarded to the team that successfully eliminates all of the opposing team's players.

Kabaddi's popularity has grown over the years, from a popular pastime in rural India to a sport recognized at the national level. Several national and international kabaddi championships have been held, with the Indian national Kabaddi team delivering outstanding achievements.

Over the last 50 years, there has been a gradual but substantial shift in the game's tendencies. What has formerly been deemed a brawl is no longer so. The introduction of mats, shoes, new methods, and regulation revisions has made the sport more fascinating and favourable to talented players, who can now overcome bigger competitors with superior abilities and techniques.

Sports are a significant aspect of our culture. Horseback riding, hunting, and wrestling are all mentioned in the Vedic scriptures. Hide and seek, and Kabaddi were popular team games throughout the epic period. Lezium games have evolved in the modern period. After the arrival of Western culture, other sports such as cricket, hockey, tennis, volleyball, ring ball, and football dominated the gaming sphere.

Sports have been the primary source of enjoyment for humans since prehistoric times. Sports were valued by ancient cultures such as the Chinese, Greeks, Indus, Egyptians, and Mesopotamians. Sports have achieved their pinnacle of prominence in the modern period. Kabaddi, too, has its origin in the pages of Mahabharata. The ancient epic narrates the story of Abhimanyu, who, with his excellent fighting skills, entered the seven-tiered defence called the chakravyuh but couldn't come out of it.

The story started when Abhimanyu was still an unborn child in his mother's womb. When Krishna was teaching Arjuna the art of penetrating the chakravyuh, Abhimanyu heard it. However, he could only learn the technique of entering the formation and not exiting it because Subhadra decided to retire to her bed halfway.

The day finally came when Abhimanyu got the chance to display his half-learned lesson. The war of Mahabharata was in full swing. On the thirteenth day, the courageous Abhimanyu was called upon to break the army formation of the Kauravas. It was during this very fight of Abhimanyu that Kabaddi came into being. The sixteen-year boy was able to enter the chakravyuh, but after a fierce battle with the enemies, he couldn't escape the formation and died heroically.

It is believed that the sport of Kabaddi, too, was developed in remembrance of Abhimanyu's fearless fighting skills.

Not only Mahabharata but also several other mentions of Kabaddi in various literature pieces of Indian mythology. Princes of ancient royal families too played Kabaddi to enhance their strength and agility in gurukuls. According to Buddhist literature, Gautama Buddha too played Kabaddi in his leisure time with his friends. The famous 17th-century poet Tukaram wrote in his Marathi literary collection Abhanga Gatha that Kabaddi was also played during the Vedic period.

Mostly played in the tropical countries, it is known by different names in different countries- Hadudu in Bangladesh, Gudu in Sri Lanka, Chub in Indonesia, and Kabaddi in India.

The sport can be further traced back to prehistoric times when humans learned the art of self-defence or group defence against animals or attacking the weaker animals for food. It is said that Kabaddi originated in Tamil Nadu. The origins of Kabaddi may be traced back to a youngster being hit and run over for a piece of candy. The boy who was hit pursued the boy who hit him, hit him again, and ran away, and so on. When the game progressed, holding one's breath while chasing became an extra feature.

The modern history of Kabaddi started in 1950 when the Kabaddi Federation of India (KFI) was founded, and it functioned according to a set of rules and regulations. Two national championships were held that year, both for men and women. The sport started to gain momentum with every passing year outside India's border. Later on, in 1973, the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India was founded, and it gave a new shape to the ancient rules of the sport.

Bangladesh too formed its own Kabaddi association called the Bangladesh Amateur Kabaddi Federation in 1973. The following year, the Bangladesh team played its first match with the Indian team. Finally, in the year 1978, the Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation was formed wherein delegates from various like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan came for a conference in the Indian town of Villai. The sport gained international recognition when played as a demonstration sport in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. In 1990, the game was also included in Asian Games held in Beijing, wherein eight countries took part, including India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The best part about this was that India won the medal. Sticking to its winning streak, India also won at the following three Asian Games in Hiroshima in 1994, Bangkok in 1998, and Busan in 2002.

Let's learn the nitty-gritty of Kabaddi, a sport that has been fascinating generations of players. The game's goal, which is played between two teams of seven players, is for a single offensive player, known as a "raider." The raider has to run into the opposing team's half of a court, make contact with as many defensive players as possible, and come back to their side of the field without ever being tackled by the defenders and in a single breath. Each person tagged by the raider wins a point, while the opposite team gets the point for halting the raider. Players are removed from the game if they have been grabbed or tackled, but they are reintroduced for each point earned by their team due to a tag or tackle.