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Sporting gifts from South Asia

By Max J. Dickstein, amNewYork Sports Editor | mdickstein@am-ny.com

August 17, 2007

Jaded after a long, disillusioning summer of news about the American sportscape, I turned my eyes to kabaddi and kho-kho, two indigenous sports that I believe South Asia has offered for international adherence.

Note: I have zero personal experience with kho-kho and kabaddi.

But with the anniversary of the partition of India and Pakistan this week, two sports from the Subcontinent get the spotlight.

Kabaddi, a Bangladeshi combination of Red Rover and Greco-Roman wrestling, fields two sides of seven battle-ready men in shorts alone.

Each man in turn becomes a menacing 'raider' who darts across the pitch to wrestle the opponent of his choice into submission and score a point for his squad.

If you think kabaddi is a terrifying series of artless ambushes, you're wrong.

But that only means that your peaceful soul was meant to repose in kho-kho, a more childlike but invigorating diversion.

Kho-kho is a half-seated game of tag in which one team of 12 must tag out the other (seated) side in the shortest time possible, while obeying strict limits on movement.

There is no equipment or special skill required to play kho-kho or kabaddi.

You need only share a love of the Indus River Valley.