Kabaddi next big thing, says Edmonton man hoping for dedicated field

Harman Kandola knows Edmonton is a sports town, but he's certain there's room for one more.

"A lot of people that I speak to are totally unaware that kabaddi is a sport that is played with international quality players in Edmonton," he said.

"A lot of people don't even know that you've got all these players from around the world coming to our city, showcasing their skills and beyond just that diaspora, nobody knows that this exists."

Kandola, 30, born and raised in Edmonton, grew up loving the traditional Canadian sports, but says kabaddi holds a special place in his heart.

"It was such a huge part of growing up in Edmonton for a young guy like me," he said.

"It was such a massive part of my summers, going to kabaddi tournaments and watching this sport become so professional."

Kandola hopes to talk to Edmonton city councillors about the need to build a kabaddifield for tournaments.

Somewhere between tag and red rover

Kabaddi is a traditional Indian team sport falling somewhere between tag and red rover, with a lot of wrestling thrown in.

The rules, however, are a little more complicated and the physical demandsmay not be for the faint of heart.

It's predominately played by men, although women's teams have emerged.

Kabaddi involves teams of seven playing on pitches of about 13 by 10 metres, divided into halves. Each teamtakes turns sending a "raider" from its side into the other half to try to win points.

The raider tries to tag members of the opposite team,earning a point for each one, but only if he can getback across the centre line.The defending team tries to stop and hold the raider, most often with a tackle.

In recent years kabaddi has gained legitimacy.

In Canada, Olympic wrestling gold medallist Daniel Igali spent some time playing the sport for teams from B.C.'sLower Mainland before moving on to his international Olympic wrestling career.

India just hosted and won the 2016 World Cup of Kabaddi, where 12 teams battled.

• India versus Iran at the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup

Other large-scale tournaments are held in Canada, Japan, the United States, England and Australia.

Alberta event viewed around the world

In August, the AlbertaKabaddiCup was hosted in north Edmonton for the fourth consecutive year.

"This was an international event, it was streamed live online, it hadviewershipacross the world," Kandola said.

• Alberta Kabaddi tournament cost more than $100,000

"It was promoted back in India, and promoted in other nations like England and the States and so you've got all these eyes watching us and you can't even get them into a facility that we can showcase, they're just playing in an open soccer field in thenorth sideof Edmonton."

He feels with the city's help,kabaddican be showcased more professionally and attract even bigger crowds.

"For us as a community, we always struggle to get facilities that would be adequate to demonstrate the sport ofkabaddi,"Kandolasaid.

Kandolawants the city to consider a field dedicated tokabaddi, able to accommodate several thousandfans. He'd also like to see financial help for hosting future tournaments.

He plans to approach citycouncillorsand invite them to attend akabadditournament next summer.

"We want to invite councillors to come out and actually enjoy what's happening," he said.