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 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.
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 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.
Deepak Ram Niwas Hooda is an Indian professional Kabaddi player and the former captain of India national kabaddi team. He was part of the Indian team which won gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games. He has also featured in all the seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League. Deepak is regarded as one of the best all rounder in the Pro Kabaddi League history.
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.
Dharmaraj Cheralathan is an Indian Kabaddi player who currently represents Tamil Thalaivas in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi league. He was a member of the Indian Kabaddi team that won gold at the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. Nicknamed “Anna”, Cheralathan led Patna Pirates to the Pro Kabaddi league in Season 4.
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.
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.
Hadi Oshtorak is an Iranian kabaddi player that represents Iran in international matches and also currently plays for Gujarat Giants in the Indian Pro Kabaddi League. He is regarded as one of the finest all rounders in the Pro Kabaddi League scoring over 50 points.
The 2019 Vivo Pro Kabaddi League was the seventh season of Pro Kabaddi League. The season began on 20 July 2019 and concluded on 19 October 2019. The zonal system present in the previous seasons was removed, and each team played against all the other teams twice.
Pawan Sehrawat is an Indian kabaddi player. He plays for Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League and represents the Reserve Bank of India. He was the most expensive player in the history of the league when Tamil Thalaivas picked him for ₹ 2.26 crores for the ninth season. He was bought by the Telugu Titans for Rs 2.60 crore for the tenth season, again becoming the most expensive player of the league.
Abouzar Mohajer Mighani is an Iranian kabaddi player who currently plays for the Iran national kabaddi team and Bengal Warriors, in the Pro Kabaddi League.
Sachin Tanwar is an Indian kabaddi player who played for the Patna Pirates till 2023-24 and currently plays in Tamil Thalaivas since 2024 in the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian national team. He was among the top 10 raid point scorers in the league in his first two seasons. He made his debut for the Indian kabaddi team in 2017. He was part of the Indian team that won the gold at the 2022 Asian Games kabaddi competitions. India beat Iran 33-29 in a controversial final.
Hadi Tajik is an Iranian professional kabaddi player represents Iran in international matches and also currently plays for Puneri Paltan in the Indian Pro Kabaddi League.
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.
Naveen Kumar Goyat is an Indian professional kabaddi player who plays for the Indian national kabaddi team and Dabang Delhi KC in the Pro Kabaddi League. His speedy raiding and consistency makes him one of the best raiders in the league. He was part of the Indian Kabaddi team that won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games. India defeated Iran 33-29 in a controversial final.
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.
The 2024 Pro Kabaddi League is the eleventh season of the Pro Kabaddi League, a franchise-based Kabaddi league in India. The league matches of this season started on October 18.
