Asian Kabaddi Championship to start in Iran
Turkmenistan women's and men's teams will participate in the Asian Kabaddi Championships, which will be held in the Iranian city of Gorgan from November 24 to 27. Iran, India, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Afghanistan, Taiwan have also sent their teams to Iran. According to the kabaddi’s rules, each team of 7 players occupies its side of the court, divided by a line. One of the teams sends “raider”, who runs to the rival’s section and chanting on single breath "Kabaddi! Kabaddi! ", tries to hit with by hand or foot as many players as possible. If necessary to take a breath, the “raider” returns to own side avoiding being caught by the opponents. If the return is successful, the tagged players from opposite team leave the field. If the “raider” was tackled, the next move is for the rivals. The game continues until one of the teams lost all their players. The kabaddi game is a demonstration of the harmony of physical and intellectual development. After all, along with such physical qualities as muscular coordination, endurance, dexterity, the player should be able to concentrate mentally and to estimate the likely counter reaction. Kabaddi, being one of the oldest games in Asia, arose approximately about 4000 years ago. The battle, similar to the kabaddi technique, is described in one of the fragments of the ancient Indian Mahabharata epic. Today, more than 50 million from 65 countries play kabaddi. This sport is especially popular in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Iran, Korea, Argentina, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, China, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia and many other countries. Kabaddi has gained interest in Turkmenistan. In some ways, kabaddi is familiar to Turkmen youth, taking into account similarities with the national game “aytrek-gunterek.”
