Voyage of Ashok Das: The 'Kabaddi Daddy' who took the sport beyond India

Modified Aug 26, 2018 14:23 IST

The Rise of Britain Kabaddi

Indian Army vs. British Army (Delhi High Quarter)

In the year 2007, the Indian Army competed against the British Army in a friendly Kabaddi match. It was the first time that they played in a friendly faceoff since India's independence in 1947. The British Army lost to the Indian Army with a 2-point deficit.

Ashok recalls the nostalgia of the head of the Indian Army who wasn't happy of Ashok taking our origin game to the Englishmen, came up to Ashok with a surprising smile on his face. He shook hands with Ashok and let him know that he had the utmost regard for what he had done.

The British Army Kabaddi Team traveled all around India in places like Amritsar and Bombay to play against Mumbai Police, Fire Brigade, and Railway Teams.

The newspaper advertisement of British Army Kabaddi Team.

Ashok formed the European Kabaddi Federation with the assist of Italian Kabaddi Federation in October 2007. The British Army soldiers took part in the 2nd Kabaddi World Cup 2007 where they had displayed outstanding performance in such competitiveness.

About the author

Vijay Sain is a freelance writer from Jaipur, Rajasthan, currently residing in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. Ever since writing his very first article in June 2018, Vijay has mostly worked on covering Kabaddi passionately to throw light on the upcoming talents and acquainting the Kabaddi admirers with a plethora of information through his articles.

In addition to covering Kabaddi, Vijay has also begun covering Cricket and Volleyball as two of the other sports which he admires. An admirer of Rahul Dravid as a cricketer and Rajasthan Royals as a team, Vijay is also a WWE enthusiast who loves AJ Styles and CM Punk.

A hobbyist in writing, the 22-year-old is also the founder and a learning entrepreneur in a jewelry-based firm - Devansh Creations. A bookish person who fell in love with mathematics during his high-school, Vijay is also passionate about cooking, traveling, and exploring new ideas every day.

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Edited by Amar Anand