Men’s Kabaddi World Cup Winners List: Standard and Circular Style

Unlike many other sports, Kabaddi is a home-grown sport that has now gained popularity across the globe. According to many legends, Kabaddi was discovered in the Vedic period of ancient India. However, the modern Kabaddi is way different from what it was being played in the olden era.

The game got its due in Indian Olympic Games in the year 1938, followed by All-India Kabaddi Federation in 1950. Subsequently, Kabaddi was played as the demonstration sport at the inaugural 1951 Asian Games in the capital city.

Post-1982 Asian Games, the sport was added to the Asian Games programme. However, it was Kabaddi World Cup that got Kabaddi much fame. In 2004, the first Kabaddi World cup was organised, and India emerged victorious.

Men’s Kabaddi tournament started in 2004 and in 2012, the first Kabaddi World Cup for women took place in India. Since then, India has won most of the titles. Majorly there are two styles of Kabaddi that are standard and circle style. Here we have curated Men’s Kabaddi World Cup Winners list including both the major styles of the sport.

Different forms of Kabaddi

• Kabaddi World Cup (Standard style)-2004
• Kabaddi World Cup (Circular style)-2010

Standard Style Kabaddi World Cup

This international Kabaddi competition was held in the year 2004, and International Kabaddi Federation conducted it. The competition took place in 2004, 2007 and 2016; in all three competitions, India emerged as champions. Each competition had 9-12 teams. The matches are aired on the Sports channels like Star Sports in India, United Kingdom Sky Sports and Canada TEN 2.

List of Standard Style Kabaddi World Cup Winner Team List

Year	Host	Champions	Score	Runner-up
2004	Mumbai	India	55-27	Iran
2007	Panvel	India	29-19	Iran
2016	Ahmedabad	India	38-29	Iran

Standard Style Kabaddi World Cup Winners List Year wise

1. India (2004)

The inaugural Kabaddi competition was conducted in the year 2004 between twelve teams naming Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom and West Indies. Team India won the competition by scoring 55 points; on the other hand, the runner up team-Iran scored 27 points. The competition was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra and followed Round-robin and Knockout tournament format.

2. India (2007)

The second Kabaddi competition took place in Panvel, India. Sixteen teams – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Itali, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka,  Thailand, Turkmenistan Turkmenistan,  Pakistan, United Kingdom and West Indies, out of which 11 were Asian. India scored 29 points in Kabaddi Word Cup standard style for the second time in a row by defeating Iran, who made 19 points only. Bangladesh and Japan were touted second runner ups.

3. India (2016)

India maintained its first position in the Kabaddi world cup winners list in the year 2016 as well by scoring 38–29 in the championship game. The third standard-style Kabaddi World Cup was contested in Ahmedabad, India. Twelve teams- Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, Argentina and the United States participated in this international kabaddi tournament. Initially, Pakistan was also one of the participating teams. However, it was removed owing to tension between Pakistan and India.

Captain Anup Kumar led team India, and Ajay Thakur scored the highest points, i.e.64, becoming the Best Raider of the championship. The second runner up of the championship was South Korea and Thailand.

How to play Standard Style Kabaddi?

In this game, two teams, each with seven men members, occupy opposite halves of the field of 33 ft × 43 ft. Female members occupy 26 ft × 39 ft. Both the teams have three supplementary players. The game is played for 20 minutes and 5 minutes halftime after the 10 minutes from when the game started.

After halftime, both the teams change their sides. During the game, one player from the attacking team, Raider, runs into the other team’s side and tries to tag as many players as possible. In order to get points, the Raider has to cross the baulk line in the opposite team’s territory and return without getting tackled by other team members.

If any player from the opponent team steps out of the bounds, they also considered as out. While doing so, the Raider has to chant kabaddi continuously”.

On each raid, a 30-second shock is also enforced. The team gets a score when it’s player tags players from the opponent team. He would also be eligible to score if he steps into the area past the bonus line of the territory.

However, if the opponent team can stop the Raider, they will get the point. Only a single player can be revived from all the players that have been tagged. If the Raider’s team is unable to score the points, it would be referred “empty raid”.

On the other hand, if the Raider can score three or more points, it is referred to as ‘Super Raid’. And, if the single Raider is able to tag all seven players in, it is considered to be ‘All Out’. The Raider’s team get two bonus points, and all 7 players are revived.

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Circular Style Kabaddi World Cup

Governed by the Government of Punjab, India, The Circle Style Kabaddi World Cup is one of the international Kabaddi competitions. The first circle style tournament was played in the year 2010.

Since then, it has been contested every year except in 2015, since the competition was cancelled owing to the 2015 Guru Granth Sahib Desecration controversy. Following Men’s world cup circles styles, the women’s tournament was started in the year 2012. Since 2010 all the tournaments have been won by India except the 2020 edition as Pakistan won it.

Circular Style Kabaddi World Cup Winner Team List

Year	Host	Champions	Score	Runner-up
2010	Ludhiana	India	58-24	Pakistan
2011	Ludhiana	India	59-25	Canada
2012	Ludhiana	India	59-22	Pakistan
2013	Ludhiana	India	48–39	Pakistan
2014	Sri Muktsar Sahib	India	45–42	Pakistan
2016	Jalalabad, Fazilka	India	62–20	England
2020	Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujrat	Pakistan	43–41	India

Circle Style Kabaddi World Cup Winners List with Captains

1. India- Pearls Kabaddi World Cup 2010 Winner

The first edition of Men’s Circle Style Kabaddi World Cup was a historic moment for the country, as India became the first champion and entered their name in the Kabaddi world cup winner list. With a 55-27 scoreline, India defeated Iran in the final match. The tournament was held in Punjab, India.

The competition had nine teams –Australia, India, Canada, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. The tournament features 20 matches. The winning team was awarded ₹ one crore along with the trophy. The runner-up team took home took ₹51 lakh, and the third-place winners, i.e. Canada was given ₹21 lakh.

Captain: Mangat Singh Mangi

Winning Price: ₹ one crore along with the trophy

Best Stopper: Mangat Singh Mangi (India)

Best Raider: Kuljeet Singh Malsian (Canada)

2. India- Champion of Pearls Kabaddi World Cup 2011

The second edition of Men’s Kabaddi World Cup Circle style was played at 16 different venues in Punjab, India. Fourteen teams, i.e. Afghanistan, Argentina, AustraliaDQ, Canada, Germany, India, Italy,  Nepal, Norway,  Pakistan, Spain,  Sri Lank,   United Kingdom, United States, participated in the tournament. In total, 46 matches were contested, and the finale took between India and Canada. Team India defeated team Canada with a 59-25 scoreline, lifted the glittering golden trophy, and took home ₹ two crores. The first and second runner-ups, i.e. Canada and Pakistan, were given ₹51 lakhs respectively.

Captain: Mangat Singh Mangi

Winning Price: ₹2 crore

Best Stopper: Siknder kanjli and Mangat Singh Mangi (India )

Best Raider: Gagandeep Singh Kheerawali(India)

3. India – 2012 Kabaddi World Cup Winner

 The third edition was also contested in Punjab, and 16 teams-Afghanistan,  Argentina,  Canada, Denmark, England, India,  Iran,  Italy, Kenya, New Zealand,  Norway, Pakistan,  Scotland,  Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, United States showed their participation in the tournament. This year too, India won the men’s finale of the Kabaddi World Cup by crushing arch-rivals Pakistan 59-22.

With the Kabaddi World Cup Champions title, India took home ₹2 crore and the runner team home Rs 1 crore, while Canada clinched the third prize of Rs 51 Lakh.

Captain: Mangat Singh Mangi

Winning Price: ₹2 crore

Best Stopper: Ekam hathoor

Best Raider: Gagandeep Singh Kheerawali

4. India- 2013 World Kabaddi Cup Winners

India created history by winning the 4^th Kabaddi world Cup Circle style in 2013. The team defeated Pakistan by 48-39. The 14-day-long event had 11 participating teams in the men’s tournament: Argentina, Canada,  England, India,  IranDNP,  Kenya,  Pakistan, Scotland, Sierra Leon,  Spain,  United States, and  Denmark.

Best Stopper- Balbir Singh Pala(India)

Best Raider- Balvir Singh Dulla (India)

5. India-2014 World Kabaddi Cup Champions

India created a history for winning the Men’s Kabaddi World Cup for 5^th consecutive year. The team defeated their arch-rivals, Pakistan, by 45–42 and reprised their dominating performance in the 2014 Kabaddi World Cup. Like former tournaments, this championship was too contested in Punjab. 11 teams participated – Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, India, Iran, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden and the United States in a 12-day-long event.

Captain: Anup Kumar

Best Stopper: Yadwinder Singh Surkhpuri (India)

Best Raider: Sandeep Surkhpuria (India) and Shafique Chishti Pakistan)

6. India- 2016 World Kabaddi Cup Winners

With their brilliant performance in the 6^th edition, India defeated England by 62-20 in the Kabaddi World Cup 2016 and claimed the title under the new format. The tournament took place in various cities of Punjab, and 12 nations- Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, India, Iran, Kenya,  Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka,  Sweden and Tanzania participated in the tournament.

Captain-Anup Kumar

Best Stopper- Khushdeep Duggan

Best Raider- Sandeep Surakhpuria/Sultan Singh (India)

7. Pakistan-2020 Kabaddi World Cup

For the first time in the history of the Kabaddi World Cup, the Pakistan team rose as champions and marked their entry in the Kabaddi World Cup winners list in 2020. The team knocked out India in the final with 43–41 and clinched the title in their home country. Pakistan was crowned with a mesmerising winners trophy along with Rs. 10 million as the prize amount. The runner–up team received Rs7. 5 million. The eight day-long event saw participation from 9 nations that are Pakistan, Canada, England, India,  Iran,  Sierra Leone,  Australia,  Azerbaijan and Germany.

Captain– Irfan Mana

Winning Amount- Rs. 10 million

Best Stopper- Sajjad Gujjar (Pakistan)

Bust Raider- Waqas butt (India)

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How to Play Circle Style Kabaddi?

The circle style of Kabaddi is played on a circular pitch that has a diameter of 22 meters. The inner-circle features a line that runs through the middle of the pitch, known as Saudi da bharha. In this Kabaddi style, there are two teams. Each team has eight players. It comprises one on one raid, and no player is supposed to leave the field.

 If two stoppers attack the player, it is considered to be a foul. Unlike the Standard style of Kabaddi, this style does not demand the Raider to chant Kabaddi while he is on the raid.

The game lasts for 40 minutes, and after 20 minutes, teams are supposed to change the sides. If the opponent team’s player is out, he does not leave the court, but the Raider’s team get 1 point for touching him. The game is played on a time basis, which is 30 seconds.

Interesting Facts Related to Kabaddi:

• In 1936, Kabaddi was first presented in Olympics.
• Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh.
• Both men and women Indian national team have won most of the kabaddi world cups.
• The First Women Kabaddi event took place in the year 1995 in Calcutta, India.
• Also known as “Record-Breaker.”, Pardeep Narwal is a number one kabaddi player.
• Kabaddi requires no sports.
• The Pro Kabaddi League inaugural season was the second-most viewed sports tournament on Indian TV after the IPL in the year 2014.
• Kabaddi is also played in countries like Italy, Argentina, Spain, Denmark, the USA and Belgium.
• It is believed that Abhimanyu discovered kabaddi during the battle of Mahabharata at Kurukshetra.

Conclusion

Kabaddi is no more restricted to Rural India; it has become an international sport with its entry into the Olympics and Asian Games. Majorly there are two types of Kabaddi. One is standard, and another circular both have slightly different formats. However,  one thing that is common between both styles is that India has majorly won both titles.

After successful Kabaddi World Cups, International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) is preparing for Kabaddi World Cup 2021 that would be contested ideally in India. Let us hope India would reprise its dominating performance in the upcoming tournament. Wishing Team India all the best!

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