The British Army just
completed a
Kabaddi tour of India! The Brits were beaten, though not by much, in Delhi, Mumbai and in Punjab. Kabaddi
with its 30-second rounds, the stakeout, frenetic running, rugby tackles and rolling around in the sand, looks like a cross between British bulldog and sumo wrestling.
Oddly enough though
The (British Army) recruitment section is funding the game and the tour. They see it as a way of appealing to young British Asians and encouraging them to sign up as soldiers.
The army dudes go on to say
It's a game that can be played with no equipment, with just a small piece of ground, anywhere in the world. So guys on operations anywhere, like in Afghanistan or Iraq, can take part.
So army posters in Southall should read: “play kabaddi and see the world innit”. Or “anyone for kabaddi in Kabul?” Well it may work and they may be on to something as, thanks to Channel 4 TV broadcasts from India in the late 1980s/early 1990s, kabaddi is actually quite widely known in the UK. Its difficult to forget the all-round spectacle of big old burly men pushing each other around whilst holding their breath and chanting kabaddi. It made our childhood games of 40/40 scat, British bulldog or touch rugby look extremely tame. This combination of tag and wrestling is apparently
what makes kabaddi, a sport played across India since the days of ancient epic the Mahabharata, an exciting game to watch.
Anyhow and more importantly, following England’s shocking (but not unexpected) failure to even qualify for football’s Euro 2008 we now have to look for other avenues of potential national sporting success. I hereby nominate kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi….
