5 states where kabaddi is played the most

Most of the revered kabaddi exponents, including the many Narwals of PKL and the iconic Anup Kumar, have hailed from or honed their skills in Sonepat

#5 Maharashtra

The state has produced one of the biggest stars of PKL, Kashiling Adake

Maharashtra has been a torchbearer of the sport for many years now. Having designated the sport as its state sport, Maharashtra has left no stone unturned to boost it.

The state’s contribution in enriching kabaddi has been immense which is further validated by the fact that it produced one of the biggest stars of PKL, Kashiling Adake.

Maharashtra has always been the pioneer of kabaddi in India. It has been the first Indian state to understand the importance of intra-state leagues. It kickstarted its own league in 2015 and even introduced a separate one for women last year which was till then unprecedented.

PKL also had its ingenious way of bolstering kabaddi in the state. The incredible success of the Mumbai-based 2015 champions U Mumba definitely helped in skyrocketing kabaddi’s popularity and getting more youngsters hooked on the contact sport.

About the author

Sudeshna is a veteran Indian Sports and International Tennis journalist as well as editor at Sportskeeda. She has an overall experience of over 10 years with top publications like The Bridge, Fox Sports Asia, and gained a keen interest in Indian sports since the 2002 Commonwealth and Asian Games when she was in school.

Sudeshna holds a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She attends tournaments regularly and being a highly experienced journalist, she ensures she only contacts the correct people from her network for the most authentic information to be put in her articles.

Sudeshna’s favorite Indian athlete is PV Sindhu owing to her big-tournament performances. She also admires Tennis legend Rafael Nadal for his resilience and has witnessed the Spaniard in action at the French Open, due to which, Roland Garros is her all-time favorite Grand Slam tournament.

Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made a lasting impact on Sudeshna. She has also interviewed him along with Badminton star Chirag Shetty and several other sports personalities. She has done on-ground reporting on multiple ITF tournaments along with the Premier Badminton League, Asian Boxing Championships and the Davis Cup.

When not using her skills and years of experience in crafting compelling content, Sudeshna likes to read, watch movies and travel.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava