US Soldiers take to Kabaddi…

...and there goes our sure shot Olympic gold.

It was always our one sure shot gold medal whenever it became an Olympic sport and I was looking forward to it. Now that too will become a gamble if the world took to it (and there is no way it can become an Olympic sport if the world doesn’t take to it). Now especially after the Americans troops have taken a fascination for it and started playing them in their barracks too the chances of Kabaddi becoming a global sport is pretty good. After all as one of the commenters pointed out at “Sepia Mutiny” Kabaddi is American football minus the ball.

After a joint anti-terrorism exercise [Shatrujeet 2006, the counter-terrorism exercise in which a company of the Punjab Regiment's 21st Battalion and 2/4 Marine company of US Army] with the Indian Army at the Commando Training Centre here, US soldiers will take back not just experience of rigorous commando training but also a quintessentially Indian sport — kabaddi. [….] But in the process, while training for operations like cordon-and-search or storming a terrorist hideout, the US Marines picked up kabaddi and even rudimentary cricket. Kabaddi fascinated them, one of the American platoon commanders, Lt Lee, said. “My troops are playing kabaddi in barracks too. They are impressed with the game and the agility of the Indian troops.” The only hitch — as an Indian officer put it tongue-in-cheek — is that the Americans pronounce kabbadi as “cup of tea”. [DNA] (Link via Sepia Mutiny)