Five reasons why kabaddi deserves to be an Olympic sport

The Pro Kabaddi League has helped spread the popularity of the game around the world.

Kabaddi has seen exceptional growth in the last eight years and a huge credit goes to the Pro Kabaddi League. The league is currently the world’s most popular kabaddi competition. It commenced in 2014 and, from that point onwards, became everyone’s favourite. PKL is now a global brand and is watched by millions across the world.

Now, a question that arises here is why a sport like kabaddi is not a part of the Olympics. The foremost reason behind it not being a global sport is that it must be practised in 75 countries across four continents. Moreover, there is a lack of national federations, leagues and competitions in many countries. However, there are ample reasons why kabaddi should be included in the Olympics. Here are the five reasons:

5. Popularity among the countries

Apart from India, kabaddi is a widely followed sport in many countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Iran. These countries have also opted for kabaddi as their national sport.

You would be surprised to know that countries like Argentina, Spain, Japan, Kenya, Canada and Poland play kabaddi as a professional sport. The dominance of this sport is increasing rapidly and the day is not far when we will see it at the Olympics.

4. Viewership

From the first day it took place, India has been dominant in kabaddi. We must have heard about many Asian Games and World Cup victories for India, but did we follow it like we follow other sports? Well, we haven’t because of the lack of interest during that time. Due to the commencement of the PKL, the world took a U-turn to follow kabaddi. It gained interest because of some remarkable rules and excellent marketing. The first season proved to be a huge hit and from there it is on everyone’s mind now.

The inclusion of kabaddi at the Olympics will not only increase viewership of the sport, but will also help to motivate other countries to take kabaddi seriously.

3. Short duration

Fans are always up for an exciting game which is short and gives them enough entertainment. Kabaddi is one of them for sure. A 40-minute match gives everything in the form of extraordinary defending by both teams and some unbelievable raiding from the players. Moreover, the short duration of matches means that a multiple number of them can be organized, both simultaneous and across the span of a few days.

With the clock always on the mind, the interest in the game increases with the time running down. This is also one of the reasons why kabaddi should be involved at the Olympics.

2. Close encounters

There are very few sports which give you close matches almost every time and Kabaddi is the one on this list. With time restrictions, the pressure can be easily seen at every moment and every player will either get points or make mistakes.

Just like in the PKL, if kabaddi is included at the Olympics, the sport will see an even greater number of close encounters, which can also be a huge boost for players, countries, fans, federations and so on.

1. Rich history

The game has a rich history and legacy. It is said that it was introduced in Tamil Nadu over 4,000 years ago. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are credited with the birth of modern kabaddi in the early 20th century. It was demonstrated for the first time in the international arena at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

It is a part of the Asian Games, the South Asian Games and the Asian Beach Games, apart from the World Cups on a regular basis. Even after being known worldwide, the sport is yet to be taken up by countries. Hopefully, the numbers will change and soon we can witness kabaddi on the largest platform of sport.