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.
Kabaddi, is a contact sport, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most popular sports in India, played mainly among village people. India has taken part in four Asian Games in kabaddi, and won gold in all.
Pro Kabaddi League, also known as PKL, is an Indian professional Kabaddi league for men. It premiered in 2014 and airs on Star Sports. It is the most popular kabaddi league in the world and the second most watched sports league in India after the Indian Premier League. Haryana Steelers are the current champions.
Jaipur Pink Panthers (JPP) is a professional Kabaddi team from Jaipur, competing in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team is currently led by Arjun Deshwal. The team is owned by Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan. Jaipur Pink Panthers play their home matches at Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium. The team is the second-most successful team in league history with two titles.
U Mumba is a professional kabaddi team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. The franchise is currently led by Sunil Kumar, and coached by Anil Chaprana and Gholamreza Mazandarani. The team is owned by Unilazer Ventures Pvt. Ltd with co-founders Ronnie Screwvala and Supratik Sen. U Mumba play their home matches at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium.
Anup Kumar Anup is an Indian former professional Kabaddi player and Kabaddi Coach of PKL Team Puneri Paltan. He was a member of the India national kabaddi team that won Asian gold medals in 2010 and 2014, one South Asian gold medal in 2016 and the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. He was the captain of the Indian National Kabaddi Team. He spent five years with U Mumba and later moved to Jaipur Pink Panthers. In 2012, the Government of India conferred the Arjuna Award on him for his achievements in the sport. He is employed as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in his native State of Haryana. On 19 December 2018, he announced his retirement from kabbadi.
Jasvir Singh is an Indian professional Kabaddi player. He was a member of the India national kabaddi team that won Asian Games Gold medal in 2014 and World Cup in 2016. He hails from Panipat and serves in the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). He serves as fire safety officer.
Rahul Chaudhari is an Indian Kabaddi player, who has played as a defender and later became a magnificent raider. He was the first player ever to score 500, 700 and 800 raid points in Pro Kabaddi League. He was a member of the Indian National Kabaddi team that won a gold medal in the 2016 South Asian Games. After six seasons with Telugu Titans and one season for Tamil Thalaivas, Rahul also played for Jaipur Pink Panthers before retiring from PKL in 2024.
Pardeep Narwal is an Indian international kabaddi player who currently plays for the Bengaluru Bulls in the Pro Kabaddi League and also the Indian national team. Widely regarded as the greatest raider in kabaddi history, he led the Patna Pirates to three straight titles and holds a multitude of the league's raiding records.
Manjeet Chhillar is an Indian former professional kabaddi player who currently serves as the assistant coach of the Telugu Titans. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest kabaddi players of all time. During his professional career, he played for the Indian national team and won a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games and 2014 Asian Indoor Games in Incheon. He also played for teams in the Pro Kabaddi League including the Bengaluru Bulls, Puneri Paltan, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Tamil Thalaivas, and Dabang Delhi. The Government of India conferred the Arjuna Award on him for his achievements in sports. In an exclusive chat with NNIS Sports, Chhillar termed it a 'dream' to receive the prestigious award. He was also a member of the state team of Haryana and is on top of Pro Kabaddi’s all-time leaderboards for tackle points (391), successful tackles (374) and High 5s (25).
Maninder Singh is an Indian professional Kabaddi player who plays for the India national kabaddi Team. He is the captain and lead raider of Bengal Warriors In the Pro Kabaddi League. Maninder is regarded as one of the best raiders in the league. He led Bengal Warriors to their maiden PKL trophy in 2019.
Mohit Chhillar is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for Tamil Thalaivas in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League. He hails from Nizampur, Haryana and has been one of India's best defenders for the past decade. He is a versatile defender who can complement other corner defenders and form successful partnerships. Known for his overpowering holds and swift dashes, Mohit is fifth in the league's all-time High 5s (17) chart and fourth in the Tackle Points (240) and Super Tackles (20) leaderboards.
The 2022 Vivo Pro Kabaddi League was the ninth season of Pro Kabaddi League. The season began on 7 October 2022 and ended on 17 December 2022. Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated Puneri Paltan in the final match to win their second title.
Raju Lal Choudhary is an Indian international kabaddi player who played for Jaipur Pink Panthers in Pro Kabaddi League seasons 1–3 and for Bengaluru Bulls in season 6 and 7. He was also a part of the India national kabaddi team at the 2018 Kabaddi Masters Dubai and 2018 Asian Games.
Arjun Deshwal is an Indian professional Kabaddi player who plays as a raider in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) for Jaipur Pink Panthers. He is known as a "Raid Machine" in the league for his aggressive raiding technique. He was part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Gangzhou, China.
Sunil Kumar is an Indian kabaddi player who plays in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) for the U Mumba franchise as a defender. After winning the Junior Nationals in 2015 and 2016, he was picked up by Patna Pirates for the PKL season 4. He later transferred to Jaipur Pink Panthers. In 2023, Kumar competed for India at the 2022 Asian Games; where the Indian team won gold, controversially defeating Iran 33–29 in the finals.
Nitin Rawal is an Indian kabaddi player from Haryana who plays in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as an all rounder. In 2023, he was part of the Indian team at the 2022 Asian Games; that won gold, controversially defeating Iran 33–29 in the finals.
V Ajith Kumar is an Indian kabaddi player from Tamil Nadu, who plays for the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Pro Kabaddi League as a raider. He was picked up by Tamil Thalaivas in Pro Kabaddi League S7 for his debut season. In Pro Kabaddi League S8 he was picked up by U Mumba. In Pro Kabaddi League S9, he was picked up by the Jaipur Pink Panthers and won the 2022 Pro Kabaddi League.
Narender Kandola is an Indian professional kabaddi player who plays as Raider in Pro Kabaddi League for Tamil Thalaivas. He was part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 2023 2nd Junior World Kabaddi Championship, Urmia (Iran).
Reza Mirbagheri is an Iranian professional Kabaddi player who plays as defender in Pro Kabaddi League for Jaipur Pink Panthers.
