Kabaddi will make its debut at the TAFISA World Sports for All Games in the Portuguese city of Lisbon next year.
World Kabaddi has confirmed its intention with the organisers that it intends to conduct competitions for both Circle style and National Style kabaddi during the Games from June 18-24.
World Kabaddi president Ashok Kumar and secretary S.T. Arasu attended the events webinar earlier today. The discussion was attended by more than 100 nations and organisations from around the world.
TAFISA secretary general Wolfgang Baumann of Germany specifically also mentioned the opportunity for kabaddi and the Brazilian martial arts of Capoiera to look towards conducting exhibitions at various parts of the city.
This will be the first time that kabaddi will be making its presence at the Games as a competitive event.
World Kabaddi will be making the necessary arrangements with the organisers to confirm the exact venue for the competition as well as other arrangements.
The TAFISA Games are a spectacular event that brings together color, dance, games, culture and promotes peace, friendship and lots of fun. The event offers a unique experience of discovery, because the different delegations, coming from all over the world, demonstrate their traditional and modern games and sports.
The TAFISA Games typically attract up to 50.000 participants and visitors from up to 100 countries, and are sponsored by the International Olympic Committee and UNESCO.
World Kabaddi will be sending out a questionnaire to the members by early next week to get feedback on the teams and officials interested in attending the Games.
The World Kabaddi were only admitted as members of TAFISA last month and due to that have a very short timeline to confirm team participation.
The initial registration must be done by end of this month, but the organisers have confirmed they would assist with a short extension until January.
Based on initial feedback, World Kabaddi will decide on the number of teams and also the format of the competition to be conducted.
Ashok said that it would be an exciting chapter for kabaddi in Lisbon.
“The game needs to be popular in many more countries if we are to look forward to it being included in the Olympics in the future,” said Ashok.
World Kabaddi now has more than 50 affiliated countries and the opportunity to introduce the sport to more countries during the Games in Portugal would be of tremendous help.
Earlier during the webinar, the Games executive director João Graça also briefed the representatives on the arrangements made to successfully execute the Games.
While the issue of Covid-19 is still in the minds of all, Graca said that they have already put in place the necessary procedures.
“We do believe that by June everything would be much better for us to conduct the Games,” said Graca.