The first-ever Australian Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) exhibition match will be held in Melbourne on Saturday, December 28 and some of its superfans in Melbourne’s north and west cannot wait.
For those not already in on the craze, Kabaddi is a contact sport played between two teams of seven players and traces its origins to northern India.
The sport’s main objective is to grab points by raiding into the opponent’s court and touching as many opponent players as possible without getting caught on a single breath.
Williams Landing resident Kamaldip Kahma said the sport was popular among Australia’s India diaspora.
“It’s an aggressive game – it’s a mixture of a couple of games and that’s what people want to see,” he said.
‘Kabaddi is in our blood.”
Describing Kabaddi as “a non-stop thrill,” Werribee resident Vijay Sahora said the game has grown in popularity.
“It has grown massively – Kabaddi players are coming from everywhere.”
“Now it’s got more popularity because they are showing it on the TV, earlier they didn’t have that much reach.
The Pro Kabaddi Melbourne Raid will be held at John Cain Arena on December 28, following day three of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India at the MCG.
PKL was launched in 2014 and is the most popular professional kabaddi league in the world.
Jaidyn Kennedy
