The 2025 Kabaddi World Cup gets underway in the West Midlands today, marking the first time the competition has been hosted outside Asia.
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This week’s tournament, lasting from Monday until Sunday, marks the second edition of the Kabaddi World Cup, which will see both a men’s and women’s tournament take place, six years on from the inaugural tournament held in Malaysia in 2019.
Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall and Wolverhampton will host matches in the competition, the first one in which any home nations will compete in, with England, Scotland and Wales all participating this year.
India are the defending champions in both the men’s and women’s editions of the World Cup, in what is statistically the second-biggest sport in the country.
Over 60 matches are scheduled to take place in total, with 10 teams partaking the men’s tournament while the women’s edition is made up of six teams.
In the men’s edition England have been drawn into Group A alongside Germany, Hungary, Poland and the USA, winning their opening match of the campaign against the Hungarians.
Scotland and Wales have been drawn together in Group B, where they’ll also meet the defending champions and favourites India, Hong Kong and Italy.
In the women’s draw, England are in Group B with Hong Kong and Hungary, while Wales will play India and Poland in Group A.
For those not in the know, here are a list of basic Kabaddi rules:
- Teams: Two teams of seven players each.
- Objective: The goal is to score points by raiding the opposing team’s half while trying to avoid being tagged or tackled.
- Raiding: A player (the “raider”) enters the opposing team’s side and must tag opponents and return to their side without being caught. They must continuously chant “kabaddi, kabaddi” without taking a breath.
- Defending: The defending team tries to stop the raider by tackling them or holding them in their half.
- Points: A team scores points by successfully tagging an opponent or preventing the raider from returning.
- Outs: A player is “out” if they’re tagged or tackled, and the opposing team earns a point.
- Game Duration: Typically played in two halves, with the team with the most points at the end of the match winning.
How to watch the 2025 Kabaddi World Cup
- Location: West Midlands, England
- Date and time: Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd March 2025
- How to watch: talkSPORT YouTube, Paddy Power News, BBC iPlayer, Star Sports
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