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 offence, 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.
India has a history of sports dating back to the Vedic period. 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.
The Syed Modi International Badminton Championships is an international badminton tournament, which is held annually in India.
Popular games and sports in Pune include athletics, cricket, basketball, badminton, field hockey, football, tennis, kabaddi, paragliding, kho-kho, rowing and chess. The Pune International Marathon is an annual marathon conducted in Pune. The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games were held in Pune.
Awadhe Warriors is a badminton team owned by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited a group company of Sahara India for the Premier Badminton League (PBL). The team's home ground is Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, Lucknow. The team is coached by Anup Sridhar.
Srikanth Kidambi is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, Kidambi was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2018. and the Arjuna award in 2015. In 2021, he became the first Indian to reach the World Championship final in the men's singles discipline.
The 2014 in Indian sports was held across the Indian cities all through the season.
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.
Sports in Andhra Pradesh has its own importance, where many sporting personalities were into limelight. The Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) undertakes the sports development activities such as construction of stadiums, establishment of sports academies and other sporting related activities. The sports infrastructure have increased tremendously by improving infrastructure in outdoor and Indoor stadiums, play fields, sports academies, sports equipments etc. Traditional sports such as kho kho, kabaddi are played mostly in Andhra Pradesh.Most sports players from Andhra pradesh represent national level competitions and very few international competitions.
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 will be coached by Gholamreza Mazandarani, coach of Iran national Kabbadi team. The team is owned by Unilazer Ventures Pvt. Ltd with co - founders in Ronnie Screwvala and Supratik Sen. U Mumba play their home matches at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium, Mumbai.
Ajay Thakur is an Indian professional Kabaddi player and the former captain of the Indian National Kabaddi Team.He is widely regarded as one of the Greatest Players Of All Time.He was part of the national teams which won 2016 Kabaddi World Cup and gold medal at 2014 Asian Games. He was awarded the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award in 2019.
In 2015, the Indian national cricket team reached the semifinal of the 2015 Cricket World Cup where Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin plays a massive role.
Gadde Ruthvika Shivani is an Indian badminton player who currently plays singles. She trains at the Gopichand Badminton Academy.
2016 Pro Kabaddi League season was the third season of Pro Kabaddi League, a professional kabaddi league played in India since 2014. Pro Kabaddi, which saw astounding success in its second season, was all set to make its much awaited return for a third season from 30 January 2016, just five months after completion of the second season. Hyderabad hosted the opening leg of Season 3, with the first match being played between Telugu Titans and U Mumba at the Titan's home turf, Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.The winner is Patna Pirates.
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.
Tamil Thalaivas is a professional kabaddi team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, that plays in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team is owned by the consortium Magnum Sports Pvt Ltd, the parent company of Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC. Actor Vijay Sethupathi is the brand ambassador of the team. Tamil Thalaivas play their home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Tamil Nadu.
UP Yoddhas is a professional kabbadi team of Pro Kabaddi League, based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It is owned by GMR Group. It was founded in 2017.
Nitin Tomar is a professional Indian kabaddi player. He leads franchise in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 and is a player of Indian Kabaddi Team. He is currently member of the UP Yoddha team. He was the highest Sold player at Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 auction sold for 93 lakhs to UP Yoddha
The 2021–22 Vivo Pro Kabaddi League was the eighth season of Pro Kabaddi League. The season began on 22 December 2021. The usual travelling caravan format was changed to a single venue hosting all the matches of the season due to spread of COVID-19 pandemic in India. Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bangalore was initially announced as the venue, but was later changed to the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Convention Center located in Whitefield, Bangalore.
