Watch England players try out kabaddi as they prepare for World Cup

David Cooper - Writer 17:11 02/06/2018
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  • England manager Gareth Southgate found a unique method to keep his players focused during training – the traditional South Asian sport of kabaddi.

    England play Nigeria on Saturday at the Wembley in the first of two warm-up fixtures prior to the World Cup which begins in Russia on June 14. And while preparing for the the start of a hectic couple of months, Southgate decided to challenge his players with a round of kabaddi – a sport in which is all about team-work.

    According to reports, England players took some time to get used to the rules of the sport, which basically entails one player ‘raiding’ the opponents’ side of the court and trying to tag an opponent before scurrying back to their camp while repeating the word ‘kabaddi’ without pausing. The aim of the team being raided is to stop that from happening and hold the ‘raider’ in their half.

    After the players got used to the rules, they got right into it after being split into different groups.

    Kabaddi has risen in popularity exponentially in the last few years following the rise of franchise-based Pro Kabaddi League in India.

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