Derby hosts kabaddi tournament this weekend celebrating sport deemed ‘spectacular’ by Olympics

One of the most popular sports on the Indian subcontinent is set to be played out in Derby this weekend.

Derby will welcome accomplished sports players from around the UK as it plays host to the England Kabaddi Federation’s organised tournament.

On Sunday August 20, the finest kabaddi players in the UK will gather at Bridle Gate Lane in Alvaston where the Derby leg’s kabaddi tournament is set to take place.

The day will be filled with a series of kabaddi matches with a start time of 10am through till around 6pm.

There is thought to be approximately 80 players who will be taking part in the contact sport.

Guru Arjan Dev Gurdwara Kabaddi Club is the Derby team.

They have been playing kabaddi for over 30 years.

Kully Chhokar, vice president of Guru Arjan Dev Gurdwara Kabaddi Club said: “Kabaddi is traditionally an Indian based sport.

“Now it is definitely more of an international game.

“Yes it is a day of competition, but it is also an exciting day out for people watching the game, and the sports’ players too.

“People can enjoy the game and watch the action and get to see it first hand, cheering their teams on.”

What is kabaddi?

Kabaddi is a popular contact team sport played between two teams of seven players.

Each team has a player known as a raider.

The raider will try to navigate the opposing team’s half of the court where they aim to tag as many people as possible without being tackled to the ground.

Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, whilst the opposing team can also earn a point if they stop the raider.

Kabaddi is a massively popular sport in India and is the national sport in Bangladesh.

It is big business in India, where the players of the sport are recognised for their agility and physical prowess.

ProKabaddi, a super league team, has over 1.6 million followers on Facebook.

The Olympics described kabaddi as ‘fast, furious and a great spectacle’ of a sport, which is high praise indeed.

People in Derby can enjoy a full day of live kabaddi matches at Bridle Gate Lane, Alvaston Derby DE24 0QW by paying an entrance fee of £10 on the door.

For more information about the England Kabaddi Federation visit their website here.