History of Kabaddi in India

The origin of kabaddi can be traced to the pre-historic times when the game was devised as a way to develop the physical strength and speed in young men. The game is essentially an Indian one, and commands huge popularity in the Indian hinterland.

In India, kabaddi is played in different names (Chedugudu or Hu-Tu-Tu in southern parts of India, Hadudu (Men) and Chu-Kit-Kit (women) in eastern India, and Kabaddi in northern India) and forms (Surjeevani, Gaminee and Amar).

The Kabaddi Federation of India came into existence in 1950 and took upon the task of standardizing the rules of the game. After the formation of the Federation, the first men's Nationals were held in Chennai, while the women's Nationals were held in Calcutta in the year 1955. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) was founded in 1973.

The game of Kabaddi got a major boost when it was included for the first time in Asian Games held in Beijing in 1990. India won the gold medal and has since won gold at the following three Asian Games in Hiroshima in 1994, Bangkok in 1998 and Busan in 2002.