While cricket remains the biggest sport in India by some margin, there is no sport that is more ‘Indian’ than the sport of Kabaddi.
Enjoyed for generations across south Asia, Kabaddi is a uniquely Indian past-time (akin to competitive ‘tag’) that is becoming a growing sporting export, particularly in the UAE, which will see the debut of the Women’s Kabaddi League.
The Kabaddi League, is a new addition to the landscape of women’s sports in the region. The competition sees eight all-female teams from India be competing for the inaugural championship, taking place from June 16 to 27 at the Shabab Al Ahli Sports Club, Dubai.
Naturally, with its international expansion to the UAE, the stakes and profile of the sport are being raised with the winners of the championship taking home close to half a million dollars (AED1.8 million ) in prize money.
Kabaddi is a team contact sport that sees a single ‘raider’ rush into the opponents half and try to tag one or more opponents before hurrying back into their own half without being tagged themselves. It is made a whole lot trickier as the entire process needs to happen with the raider continuously says the word “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” in one breath.
In India, Kabaddi has exploded in popularity since the creation of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), placing it as the second most-watched sport in the country after cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL).
The league aims to raise the profile of this sport in the UAE and empower women athletes by providing them with a platform to showcase their talents.
“The league is designed to showcase the incredible agility, strength, and strategic prowess of these remarkable women, elevating the status of Kabaddi as an internationally celebrated sport,” said Pradeep Nehra, Founder of APS Sports – the Women’s Kabaddi League organizer.