Khusti and Kabaddi in Punjab ( English version)

Kabaddi, in Punjabi, is a popular team sport across parts of Asia—including Japan and Iran—but is particularly widespread in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Indian states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab. It is in the latter that we will focus. The word “kabaddi,” often chanted during matches, means “to hold one’s breath” in Hindi, an essential action in the sport itself.
Two teams of seven players occupy halves of a playing field roughly 12.5 by 10 meters. Each team has five additional players in reserve. Matches are played in two twenty-minute halves (fifteen minutes for women), with a five-minute break in between to switch sides. Games are organized according to the players’ age and weight.
Kushti, also called Pelwani or Pahlavani, is a traditional form of Indian wrestling in which competitors cover their bodies in mud. Once a highly renowned sport in India, it is now gradually disappearing. However, some continue to fight to preserve their traditions. Wrestlers follow a disciplined lifestyle and a strict diet based on milk, ghee, eggs, and chapattis.