An infrequent breeze cooled down Cunningham Park on Sunday, September 14, during the International “Kabbadi Cup 2008,” sponsored by the Punjabi Virsa Sports Association. Close to 2,000 fans packed the park to watch this unique competition.
An ancient game whose origin is not truly known, the name translates to “holding of breath” in Hindi. Combining tag and freestyle wrestling, teams take turns sending a “raider” to the opposing team’s side of the field, where the objective is to tag or wrestle members of the opposite team to gain a point before returning to the home side.
Meanwhile, the defending team, with four members on the field, link arms to form a chain, and try to stop the raider from returning to the home side before taking a breath. If the raider takes a breath before returning, the raider is sent off the field.
A player can also get out by escaping to the opposite side of the field via the midpoint, except during a struggle with an opposing team member. This single elimination tournament featured worldwide teams from England, India, Canada, California and New York.
International Kabbadi Cup held in Queens
By QNS News Team
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