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4,000-Year-Old Sport Making a Comback


In India, an ancient sport is making a comeback.

It's called kabaddi - a game dating back 4,000 years. A popular sport throughout Southeast Asia, kabbadi enthusiasts recently initiated their own World Cup competition, held in Mumbai last November.

Kabaddi, derived from a Hindi word meaning "holding breath", is a complicated game of tag, with elements of wrestling. There are two teams alternating between offense and defense. An offensive player must break into the defensive team's side of the field, and stay for only one breath.

The offense scores a point each time their player touches any of the defending team and gets back to his side of the field without getting caught.

Kabaddi is a demanding sport, but playing it has its rewards. The best players often win scholarships to universities, and the chance to play in the newly created World Cup.

With the creation of the Kabaddi World Cup, some believe, after 4,000 years, the sport is at last ready to take the world by storm.

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