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.
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.
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 now plays for Jaipur Pink Panthers.
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.
Manjeet Chhillar is an Indian former professional kabaddi player who currently serves as the assistant coach of Telugu Titans. 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 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 as a 'dream' to receive the prestigious award. He was also the member of 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).
Dharmaraj Cheralathan is an Indian Kabaddi player who currently represents Jaipur Pink Panthers 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 and is one of the leading Super Tackle scorers in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history. He is capable of playing as both a right and left corner, Cheralathan has more than two decades of experience. The veteran defender is tactically sound and has consistently combined his experience and intelligence to outwit raiders.
Jagdish Kumble is an Indian professional kabaddi player and coach. He coaches the Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League. He was member of the India national kabaddi team that won Asian games gold medals in 2002 which was held at Busan.He is the only player who won gold medal in kabaddi from Kerala.
K. Prapanjan is a professional Indian Kabaddi player. He is plays for Tamil Thalaivas as a raider in Season 8 of Pro Kabaddi League.
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.
The 2018 Tamil Thalaivas season is the second season of the Tamil Thalaivas' existence in the Pro Kabaddi League. The team is currently led by Ajay Thakur and coached by E Baskaran. Tamil Thalaivas play their home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Chennai), Tamil Nadu.
Lee Jang-kun is a former South Korean professional Kabaddi player and television personality. He is the first overseas player in the Pro Kabaddi League to score 400 raid points. He became the most valuable international player in the fifth season after he was retained by Bengal Warriors and has played for the same franchise until the sixth season. He joined Patna Pirates in the seventh season. He is the most successful foreign raider in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League.
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.
Siddharth Desai is an Indian kabaddi player, who currently represents VIVO Pro Kabaddi franchise Telugu Titans. He had previously represented Air India and Maharashtra before making his Pro Kabaddi debut in Season 6 with U Mumba. Desai was the costliest player in the Season 7 auction when Telugu Titans bid a whopping ₹1.45 Crore to secure his services. he is one of the most decorated kabaddi player in India.
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.
Naib Subedar Monu Goyat is an Indian kabaddi player and an Indian Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO). He was part of the India national kabaddi team that won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. He will play for Patna Pirates again in the Pro Kabaddi League 2021 starting from 22 Dec. Goyat was part of Patna Pirates' triumphant 2017 Pro Kabaddi League season and was the most expensive purchase in the 2018–19 Pro Kabaddi League season at ₹15.1 million (US$190,000).
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.
Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh also known as Moein Nabibakhsh is an Iranian professional Kabaddi player who currently plays as an all rounder for Punneri Paltan in the Pro Kabaddi League and represents Iran national kabaddi team in the international circuit. He was the part of Iran national kabaddi team that won gold in 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.
