What is Kabaddi? Game sparks large-scale disturbance in Derby

Three people were taken to hospital after there were reports of shots fired and crowd violence in Derby on Sunday.

Local police have described the incident as a large-scale disturbance, after crowds had gathered for a Kabaddi sport gathering on Elvaston Lane in Alvaston.

Officers were called to the sporting event at 4pm on Sunday, August 20. ITV reports that three people were injured in a potentially gang-related brawl, with one in serious condition.

But what is Kabaddi and where does the sport come from? Here’s what you need to know.

Kabaddi is a team contact sport, usually played by members of seven people.

Also known as Kaudi, the objective of the game is for a single player, named the ‘raider’ to lead the offence by running into the opposing team's half of the court.

Their goal is to ‘touch out’ as many of their players and return to their own team’s half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders on the other team in 30 seconds.

Each team will score points for every player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider.

Players are taken out of the game if they are touched or tackled, but are brought back in for each point scored by their team from a tag or a tackle, in a similar fashion to dodgeball.

The game is most commonly played in the Indian subcontinent and several surrounding Asian countries. There’s a Kabaddi Pro Tournament in India, as well as formerly the Kabaddi World Cup. Games of Kabaddi are also played at the Asian Games.

The game in Alvaston is thought to be a casual local game as part of the Derby Kabaddi Tournament.