Broadcasting
Star Sports will serve as the host broadcaster of the tournament. [4]
| Countries | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 India | Star Sports |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | January 2025– |
| Administrator | International Kabaddi Federation |
| Format | Standard style |
Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Host(s) | India |
The 2025 Kabaddi World Cup will be the fourth edition of the standard-style Kabaddi World Cup, and will be hosted in India during the month of January 2025. [1]
This will be the first World Cup edition post the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the previous three editions of the World Cup have taken place in India. [2] [3] [4]
Star Sports will serve as the host broadcaster of the tournament. [4]
| Countries | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| India | Star Sports |
Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originating in ancient India. The objective of the game is for a single player on offense, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their players as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders in 30 seconds. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are touched or tackled, but return to the game after each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle.
Kho kho is a traditional South Asian sport that dates to ancient India. It is the second-most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connecting two poles which are at either end of the court. During the game, nine players from the chasing team are on the field, with eight of them sitting (crouched) in the central lane, while three runners from the defending team run around the court and try to avoid being touched. Each sitting player on the chasing team faces the opposite half of the field that their adjacent teammates are facing.
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Chennai, India. The stadium is located at Sydenhams Road in Park Town besides the Chennai Central suburban railway station. It has a capacity of 40,000.
Association football and basketball are the most popular sports in Asia. Cricket is the third most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include baseball, badminton and table tennis among others. There are also some traditional sports that are popular in certain regions of Asia, such as the South Asian sports kabaddi and kho-kho, and sepak takraw in Southeast Asia. Top sporting nations/regions in Asia include China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, also known as Balewadi Stadium, is a sports complex located in Pune, India. The complex is situated about 15 km from downtown Pune and 5 km from Hinjawadi. This complex was a venue for the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, Khelo India Youth Games in 2019 and AFC Women's Asian Cup.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period, with Western sports having been imported during British rule. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport; it generates the highest television viewership, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) being the most-followed league in the country. Football has also gained popularity, with the Indian Super League (ISL) being the highest level of domestic football, and the national team winning multiple gold medals at the Asian and South Asian Games. Additional football accomplishments include India having reached the Groupstage of the 1960 Olympics, qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and won the SAFF Championship. Other sports include kabaddi, badminton, tennis, and athletics, with kho-kho becoming the fourth-most viewed sport. India has also had success in field hockey, winning the World Cup and multiple medals in the Olympic Games. Sports such as golf, rugby, boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, motorsport, wrestling, and basketball are featured throughout the country.
Guru Nanak Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Ludhiana, India. It hosts football matches and athletic competitions. It is used as one of the home grounds of the Indian Super League team Punjab FC. With seating capacity of 30,000 spectators.
Kabaddi, is a contact sport, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most popular sports in India, played mainly among people in villages. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi, and won gold in all of them. Four forms of kabaddi played in India are Amar, Suranjeevi, huttuttoo, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, Haryana, the United States, 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. In Gaminee style, seven players play on each side and a player put out has to remain out until all his team members are out. The team that is successful in outing all the players of the opponent's side secures a point. The game continues until five or seven such points are secured and has no fixed time duration.
2012 Kabaddi World Cup was the third edition of the circle style Kabaddi World Cup, organised by the Government of Punjab. It was played in Punjab, India in various cities of the province from 1 to 15 December 2012 with teams from 16 countries. The opening ceremony of the tournament was held in Bathinda and the closing ceremony in Ludhiana.
The India women's national kabaddi team represents India in international women's kabaddi competitions.
The Patliputra Stadium at the Patliputra Sports Complex is a multi-purpose stadium in Kankarbagh, Patna, Bihar. The first Women World Cup Kabaddi Championship was held here in its inaugural year, in which 16 countries had participated. It also hosted seven league matches of new Pro Kabaddi League with its home team Patna Pirates from 7 to 10 August in 2014.
Pro Kabaddi League or abbreviated to PKL is an Indian men's professional Kabaddi league. It was launched in 2014 and is broadcast on Star Sports. It is the most popular kabaddi league in the world. It is also the second most watched sports league in India after the Indian Premier League (IPL). Puneri Paltan are the current champions of PKL.
The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup was the third edition of the standard-style Kabaddi World Cup. It was organised by the International Kabaddi Federation and contested from 7 to 22 October 2016 in Ahmedabad, India. Twelve countries competed in the tournament.
The Kabaddi World Cup, is an indoor international Kabaddi competition conducted by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) in a standard style, contested by men's and women's national teams. The competition has been previously contested in 2004, 2007, 2016. All three tournaments have been won by India. In 2012, the first Kabaddi World Cup for women was held in India. The current format of the competition involves a round-robin group stage, with 5 teams in 2 pools, with the first and second place finishers of each group progressing to the semi-finals.
EKA Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, located near Kankaria Lake. The stadium was officially opened on 7 October 2016. It was built in a public-private partnership between the Government of Gujarat and SE TransStadia, a company led by entrepreneur Udit Sheth.
Fazel Atrachali is an Iranian kabaddi player who currently plays for Bengal Warriors in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League and the Iran National kabaddi team.
India and Pakistan are frequent rivals across a variety of sports, with matches between the two countries considered to be one of the most intense sports rivalries in the world, especially in cricket. The tense relations between the two nations which emerged from bitter diplomatic relationships and conflict that originated during the Partition of British India into India and Pakistan in 1947, the Indo-Pakistani Wars, and the Kashmir conflict established the foundations for the emergence of an intense sporting rivalry between the two nations.
Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) is an Indian franchise-based kho-kho league started in 2022. It is hosted by the Kho Kho Federation of India. The inaugural season had a viewership of 64 million, 41 million of which came from India, making UKK the third-most viewed non-cricket sport tournament in India after the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian Super League.
The Junior Kabaddi World Cup is an indoor junior international Kabaddi competition conducted by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) in a standard style. In 2019, the first Junior Kabaddi World Cup was held in Iran and was won by the hosts. The second edition which was also held in Iran was won by India.
The following is a list of events for the year 2025 in India.