Te Puke’s Dashmesh Sport and Culture Club hosting kabaddi tournament

The late Kulwinder Sodhi (Binda, third from the left) was one of the founders of the Dashmesh Sport and Culture Club. Photo / Supplied

Kabaddi has been described as a combination of rugby and wrestling.

If you are a fan of either or both — or are just curious to find out more — then there’s a chance to see the sport live in Te Puke over the weekend.

The Te Puke-based Dashmesh Sport and Cultural Club is hosting a kabaddi tournament at Centennial Park on Sunday.

Goldie Sahota from the club says tournaments are held throughout New Zealand and are generally knockout competitions, leading to a final.

Games consist of two 20-minute halves played by teams of 12, although only seven from each side are on the field at any time. There are stoppers and raiders, and points are scored by successfully raiding the other team.

He says although there is no ball, kabaddi includes rugby-style tackling and one-on-one combat like wrestling — with plenty of tactics and teamwork in play.

A former player, he says players need to be physically fit.

The Dashmesh Sports and Cultural Club holds significance to many Punjabi families in Te Puke.

It does more than promote the sport of kabaddi — it’s a true brotherhood, says Goldie.

Committee members Goldie, Gopa Bains, Kanta Dhaliwal, Deepa Khakh and Darshan Nijjer represent the Te Puke club at tournaments nationwide, and they know first hand the type of discipline required to play the sport. Now they want to educate the community — not just about kabaddi, but about Punjabi culture in general.

Goldie says kabaddi events and the club also help to teach the children of Punjabi families who were born in New Zealand about their culture.

The late Kulwinder Sodhi (Binda) was one of the founders of the club and a strong advocate for kabaddi. He believed it was a sport that illustrated both competitiveness and determination, and hoped it would be embraced not only his community, but would gain enough interest over the years so that other communities would want to take part.

Swarn Khattra from the Dashmesh Sport and Cultue Club. Photo / Supplied

His wish is coming true, with people from outside the local Indian community now playing at a high level with the Dashmesh club.

Alongside the kabaddi games during Sunday’s tournament, there will be a range of other activities and attractions for those not taking part or watching the games.

Neena Chauhan, a co-vice president of the Tauranga Western Bay of Plenty Indian Association, is helping organise the other events.

She says often at kabaddi tournaments there is little else to do but watch the games, and she wants to see more activities for women, children, the elderly and other members of the community to enjoy.

She says there will be activities such as frisbee games, bouncy castles, face painting and games and quizzes, and opportunities to win spot prizes.

There will also be information tents, including details of the Red Cross Good and Ready civil defence preparedness initiative.

“We want it to be an event that ... other communities are participating too — other people are joining your event too.”

She says the event has brought men and women together to work on the same project.

“We are looking at the bigger picture and what we can do for those not taking part — that is different.”

Te Puke Community Board chairwoman Kassie Ellis was asked to help organise the event and says the idea has been to make it more inclusive and to bring in more of a community element.