The Canterbury Cultural and Sports Trust(CCST) successfully organised the highly-anticipated Christchurch Kabaddi Cup on Sunday, April 23 at Woolston Park, located opposite Gurdwara Sahib on 537 Ferry Road in Christchurch.
The event had an impressive turnout, with over 1,500 visitors visiting the venue to experience the thrilling games.
Six teams participated in the game, which came from Auckland, Waikato, Hamilton, Tauranga, Hastings and Hamilton.
The first prize of $2,500 was won by the Hastings team, while the second prize of $2,000 was won by Azaad Kabaddi Club from Auckland.
Woolston Park was packed with Kabaddi enthusiasts with devotees from the nearby Gurudwara Singh Sabha, who made it a point to attend the sports event.
Kabaddi being a popular sport in Punjab, there were an overwhelming number of members from the Punjabi community and other communities who gathered to watch the game.
The teams battled it out on a circular field outdoors, which is the traditional form of the sport in Punjabi Kabaddi, with a ‘raider’ trying to tap out as many opponents as possible before coming back to their own half of the court without being tackled by the defenders(stoppers) in 30 seconds.
It was a great day out for families and friends, and the energy and enthusiasm of the players and the audience made it a memorable experience for everyone. The competition was intense, and the teams put up a great show for the audience.
The event also had various activities and games for ladies and bouncy castles for children. Prizes for these games included a gold ring sponsored by Radio Sadeaala, which was won by Nikita Bhullar. There were Westfield Mall vouchers for children by Dr Priya Narang of Hoon Hay Dental.
The Kabaddi event was a brainchild of Hardeep Hayer, Sandy Randhawa, Avtar Singh, Mark Lodder and Jitender Sahi.
Canterbury Cultural and Sports Trust (CCST), which is a charitable organisation registered with the Charities Commission, was set up early this year with a mission to promote physical and mental well-being through Sikh sports (particularly Kabaddi) and bring the wider New Zealand community together.
A lot of hard work was put in by many volunteers (real unnamed heroes) to make this event a grand success.
CCST thanks all the sponsors, attendees, and players who made a pilgrimage to Christchurch to participate and entertain the crowd. CCST also expressed its gratitude to the Kabaddi Federation of New Zealand for their support throughout the event.
The event was the first and biggest sports event organised by Christchurch’s Indian community since Covid and also gave people from wider communities an opportunity to learn and appreciate the sport.
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