Kabaddi has been a part of the Asian Games since 1990 with India being a dominant force until 2018 when Iran won the title.
NEW DELHI: India’s Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said that kabaddi can be included the Olympics as the sport has huge potential globally.
“Kabaddi has already been included in the Asian Games and now, not just India, but all Asian countries must come together to ensure that the sport in included in the Olympics as well. That is our ultimate goal,” Rijiju said.
The minister was addressing over 700 kabaddi coaches from all over India and from other countries, including Korea and Malayasia at the Online Coaches Knowledge Enhancement session organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in 20 sporting disciplines.
Kabaddi has been a part of the Asian Games since 1990 with India being a dominant force until 2018 when Iran swept the title.
The women’s category started in 2010, again with India winning the first two games and Iran winning the last one in 2018.
But he added that the standard of the game needed to be improved in the country.
“To achieve that goal we must improve the standard of the game in India and also ensure that we propagate it across geographical locations in India and the rest of the world.”
“Rules and regulations keep changing and those who do not update themselves will be left behind. We often lose out to teams from the western world because they’re far ahead in terms of their knowledge of rules,” Rijiju added.
The Pro Kabaddi League is probably the most popular competition in India, with the first event played in 2014.
