Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The International Kabaddi Federation’s efforts to introduce the sport at a much bigger level finally paid dividends as it will be making debut in the Fourth World Nomad Games, this year. “Kabaddi has been included in the World Nomad Games. It’s big news for the kabaddi fans and enthusiasts across the world,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) said on Tuesday. The Games, an international extravaganza dedicated to ethnic sports, were earlier scheduled to be held in the Turkish city of Bursa in autumn last year with the cooperation of the World Ethnosport Confederation (WEC) but were moved to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The venue of the Games has also been shifted to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan due to a clash with the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games, which are scheduled to take place in September 2021 in Konya, Turkey.

According to the spokesman, the organisers are expected to give the final dates to hold Games in the next few days. Being held since 2014 after every two years, the event includes traditional sports such as archery, mounted archery, horse racing, archery, falconry, and various types of wrestling. The previous three editions also took place in Kyrgyzstan. Within the short span of time the popularity of the games have increased manifold, which is evident from the fact that the last edition of the Games in 2018 hosted athletes from 66 countries. He said that Pakistan would field a strong outfit in the event. “We are sure to make a mark in the Games as currently, we are the best world side, who are the winner of circle-style Kabaddi World Cup,” he concluded.