Indian Kabaddi Player charged with Drugs Offence in Italy

An Indian Kabaddi player who was given deportation orders has been caught and charged with drugs on Monday, January 25, 2020, in Vicenza in Italy.

The 28-year-old man whose initials are K.H. who worked as in a leather-wear workplace had transformed himself into a Kabaddi player. However, subsequently, he ended up in the world of drugs.

The man was caught with 0.75 grams of cocaine in the street Felice e Fortunato, in Vicenza, by Italian police, the carabinieri.

Reports also say that the man had violated a curfew order which is in place in Vicenza, prohibiting people to be outdoors after 10.00 pm.

It appears that he was caught for violating the curfew after which the drugs were discovered on him by police.

The man of Indian-origin is said to have arrived in Italy when he was at the age of 17, as a young migrant.

After he started working in leatherwear, it’s reported that he wanted to turn professional in Kabaddi and was looking at becoming a professional player to play in matches abroad, especially in countries like Belgium.

There are many players like this man who have a Kabaddi background and have emigrated to Europe.

Indian Kabaddi has grown globally over the past fifteen years, especially, in Europe, where players have migrated to countries like Italy, especially, from Punjab in India and Pakistan.

In 2011, there was a Kabaddi tournament in Ormelle, which is in northern Italy, where eleven teams gathered to play the sport.

Overall, in Italy, there are twenty-five Kabaddi teams.

In addition, there are two federations in charge of the sport in the country and for organising matches abroad.

Children are also being encouraged to participate in learning Indian Kabaddi. Where training is being provided for 5-9 year old’s to join in.

Kabaddi is very popular in Punjab in India, where there are many tournaments held yearly.

The game is quite intense and a contact-sport. It is very similar to a game played in Britain called ‘bulldog’.

The game involves two sides with a maximum of 12 players and a minimum of 10 players on each side. In a match, only seven players from each team are allowed to play.

The aim of the game is for one player runs into the den of the other team and try to survive their tactics to return back to his team while saying ‘kabaddi’ under his tongue.

If he or she is caught and not allowed to return to their team past a line on the ground, then the opposition gets the point.

The sport also has a good gender representation as there are men and women teams who play in separate or mixed tournaments.