Despite being divided by continents, seas, and oceans and situated over 6000 kilometers away, the sport of kabaddi unites Poland and India. The game, which started in the country’s rural hinterland, is currently a developing sport that has captured the interest of Polish youth and led to the European nation winning titles across Europe and competing for the continent in the Kabaddi World Cups.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed the ‘kabaddi link’ between the two nations on Wednesday. During his speech, PM Modi, who is now on an official visit to Poland, disclosed how kabaddi connects the two nations.
We are also united via the game of Kabaddi. Poland brought this game to new heights, having imported it from India. The first-ever Kabaddi championship will take place in Poland. During his keynote speech at an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Poland, the Prime Minister stated, “I want to wish good luck to their team.”
The men’s and women’s Kabaddi captains from Poland will meet with PM Modi on Thursday to further the sport’s relationship between the two nations. Poland is home to the current European Champions, Kabaddi, a game that is highly popular there since it is similar to tag and wrestling in Europe. The first European was Polishman Michal Spickzo.
It was first launched in Poland when Indian athlete Abhishek Sharma decided to form a club. After moving to Poland in 2007 to complete his MS in Bio-Technology, Abhishek Sharma launched the ‘Kabaddi Project’ in 2010 with the help of International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) member Ashok Das. Since then, Sharma has dedicated all of his earnings to kabaddi’s popularisation and advancement to this point in the sport.
The men’s national team from Poland qualified for and participated in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad, India. In a preliminary group match, the squad upset the reigning world champions, Iran, creating a stir. Despite placing fourth in the group and missing out on the next round, the outcome demonstrated that Kabaddi