An ancient South Asian game invented some
5,000 years ago to improve self-defence and
hunting reflexes, kabaddi was formalised in the
1930s, and is noted for its symbolic resemblance
to a tale in the Hindu epic Mahabharata
about a doomed military raid by the Indian
warrior Abhimanyu.
In this legendary narrative of the
Kurukshetra wars between the Pandava
and Kaurava tribes, Abhimanyu was a brave
warrior who, as an unborn child, learned a
secret method of penetrating the seven-tiered
defence of the Kauravas by listening
to the words of the Hindu god Krishna.At 16 years old, he successfully broke down
the enemy’s seemingly impenetrable defence,
but because he did not learn the way out, he
was ultimately killed in battle.
In the same spirit, modern kabaddi involves
a lone athlete from one team, known as a
raider, who charges into a half-court of seven
opponents and must try to tag them all while
avoiding capture when returning to his side
of the court. Teams take turns raiding courts,
and points are awarded for every player
tagged. Indian princes once used kabaddi
matches to prove their strength, and it remains
the world’s only contact discipline pitting a
team defence against a solo offence. Even the
Buddha was said to have played the sport.KABADDI gaMePlay
Raiders must complete
their raid within a
single breathRaiders can only be
grabbed by their limbs
or torso, not their head,
neck or clothesDATA SOURCES: SPORTS KEEDA, BRITTANICA,
AMATEUR KABADDI FEDERATION OF INDIAUnique to the Asian Games are six non-Olympic sports that will see
the spotlight in August. Among them are kabaddi and pencak silat,
both of which claim to originate from folk legendThe Mythic Sports
PHOTOS © NUR PHOTO/GETTY IMAGESASIAN INSPIRATIONS