Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originating from 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 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 are brought back in for each point scored by their team from a tag or a tackle.
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.
Rakesh Kumar is a former Indian professional Kabaddi player and Coach of Haryana Steelers. He was the vice-captain of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 2007 World Cup at Panvel, India. In 2011, in recognition of his achievements in the sport, he was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India.
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 second most watched sports league in India after the IPL.
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.
Ajay Thakur is an Indian professional Kabaddi player and the former captain of the Indian National Kabaddi Team. 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.
Surender Nada is an Indian professional Kabaddi player. He was part of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winning team. Currently, he plays as a defender for the Bengal warriors franchise of Pro Kabaddi League.
Pardeep Narwal is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for the UP Yoddha in VIVO Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian National Kabaddi team. He led the Patna Pirates to three straight VIVO Pro Kabaddi titles and holds a multitude of the league's raiding records.
K. Baskaran or Baskaran Kasinathan is a professional Indian Kabaddi sportsman who has represented Indian National Men's Kabaddi team in International games and is mentoring as a Kabaddi Coach. He has won national as well as international medals. He has been a professional coach for International teams and Kabaddi League franchises. He serves as a coach for the Indian National Men's Kabaddi team and the coach for the Pro Kabaddi franchise Tamil Thalaivas.
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 called Magnum Sports Private Limited, 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 Stadium (Chennai), Tamil Nadu.
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.
Rohit Kumar Paudel is a Nepalese cricketer and current captain of the Nepal national cricket team. He made his List A debut for Nepal in the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament on 8 February 2018. He was inspired to play cricket, after Nepal played in the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. In January 2019, he became the youngest male cricketer to score an international half-century. The record was broken in February 2020, by his team-mate Kushal Malla. He is also all time highest run scorer of Nepal in ODI format and first Nepalese player to score 1000 runs in ODI cricket. Rohit Paudel was named captain of the Nepal cricket team in November 2022.
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.
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat is an Indian kabaddi player who plays for Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League and represents Reserve Bank of India. Pawan became the most expensive player in the history of the Pro kabbadi 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 and with this, he became the most expensive player in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League again.
Nitesh Kumar is an Indian kabaddi player who currently plays for UP Yoddha in Pro Kabaddi League. Kumar was picked up by Yoddha in the season 5 auction. In season 6, he became the first player in the league history to score 100 tackle points in a single campaign. He is part of the Indian team that won gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games. India beat Iran 33-29 in a controversial final.
Milinda Chathuranga is a Sri Lankan kabaddi player represents Sri Lanka in international matches and also currently plays for Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Indian Pro Kabaddi League.
Sonali Vishnu Shingate is an Indian professional women's Kabaddi player and the current part of India national kabaddi team. She was part of the national teams that won the gold medal at the 2019 South Asian Games as well as the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games.
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.
Ashan Kumar Sangwan is a former Indian professional Kabaddi player and Coach of Tamil Thalaivas. Kumar was the Indian captain of the first Asian Games gold medal-winning team.in recognition of his achievements in the sport, he was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India and Dronacharya Award in 2021. Presently he is the coach of the Indian Kabaddi team.
Sunil Kumar is an Indian professional kabaddi player who plays in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 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; the team won gold, controversially defeating Iran 33–29 in the finals.
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