32nd Canada Kabaddi Cup sells out Kitchener Memorial Auditorium

An annual sports tournament has sold out Kitchener’s largest arena.

The 32nd Canada Kabaddi Cup, an international competition that brings together teams from around the world, took over the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Saturday. Thousands lined up outside to watch the all-day event and see who would take home the coveted trophy.

Manjab Singh Bath, a player on Team USA who travelled from Vancouver to compete, said the sport holds a special place for him.

“[Kabaddi] is very historic in the Punjabi community,” Bath said. “Being born in Canada and getting into kabaddi, it’s a big thing for Canadian boys and I’m really proud of our culture and I want to take part in it as well.”

Bath began playing kabaddi in 2023 with the hope of making it to the big leagues.

“Kabaddi is a mix of wrestling. It’s just a fun sport to be in...it’s unique in its own way. You can’t describe it,” he said.

In kabaddi, two teams face off with four designated “stoppers” and four to five “raiders” on each side. Teams alternate rounds, with raiders given 30 seconds to cross into the opposing side, touch an opponent and return before time runs out to score a point. Stoppers aim to prevent the raider from returning, using tactics such as tackling and holding them down. The team with the most points after the two 20-minute quarters wins.

Bath said the sport is driven less by strategy and more by determination.

“Kabaddi is mostly based on heart. I don’t go in with a strategy,” he said. “You don’t know what the other person has to offer. So, my brain’s open to all sorts of things. Just patience and calmness is what’s going to get me through today.”

Sukhi Johar, who attended Saturday’s tournament, has been watching kabaddi since he was three years old. He said the sport is a tradition in Punjabi communities.

“All the friends [and] family members — everybody gets together,” Johar said. “It’s just the excitement to get everybody all together for this.”

He said the annual competition draws spectators from around the world and encouraged newcomers to see it for themselves next year.

“The game is actually full of tradition...full of energy, full of enthusiasm, full of teamwork [and] full of all the courage that these guys bring in and put into the sport together,” he said.