Gaurav Sharma
Auckland, December 3, 2023
Thousands from New Zealand’s Indian subcontinental communities attended the fifth New Zealand Sikh Games and the inaugural New Zealand Kabaddi World Cup in South Auckland last weekend.
Traditional Indian tag sports such as Kabaddi and Kho Kho, as well as a host of more recognisable sports such as Weightlifting, Football, Hockey, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, Badminton, Cricket, Tennis and Athletics, were on display on 25 and 26 November during the New Zealand Sikh Games, which were mostly held at Papakura’s Bruce Pullman Park.
Organisers said that more than 50,000 people attended the sports extravaganza at the Park and sports facilities in Pukekohe, Kumeu, Clark Beach and Karaka.
The energetic Kabaddi
Kabaddi is a contact sport that has origins in the Indian subcontinent. The sport has two styles of play: a Standard style that is typically played indoors and a Circle style that is played outdoors.
Teams aim to score points by raiding their opponent’s court, touching as many defence players as possible in a single breath and returning to one’s court without getting caught.
On Sunday, the circle-style Kabaddi tournament was won by the Bay of Plenty Kabaddi Club, which defeated Auckland-based SBS Sports and Cultural Club in a tightly contested final.
Meanwhile, Kho Kho is a form of tag that dates to prehistoric India. The objective is to tag an opponent and score points. The field of play is rectangular with a central lane connecting two poles at either end of the court. Teams take turns chasing and defending, with restrictions placed on the movement of the chasers.
During the games, three teams participated in the Kho Kho competition, with Youth Malwa Club of Waikato and Bay of Plenty Club declared joint winners.
Hockey, a very popular sport in the Sikh community, saw 20 teams participating in four categories – under 10 years, under 13, under 16 and men’s open.
Sydney Lions from Australia lifted the Men’s Open Trophy, beating the NZ Punjabi Hockey Club by a golden goal in the penalty shootouts after the teams were level after the full-time whistle.
The Australians came up trumps in football as well, with Brisbane-based Newfarm Punjabi Sports Club winning the final 6-0. Notably, the Australian team did not concede a single goal in the entire tournament, leading to Navjit Kang being named the best goalkeeper of the weekend.
Cultural Performances
As in previous years, the Sikh martial art Gatka demonstrations attracted the most attention, in addition to Bhangra and Giddha (a folk dance from the Punjab region) performances. In all, 35 cultural showcases were performed to keep the crowd entertained.
“Taking inspiration from the Australian Sikh Games, we started the New Zealand Sikh Games in 2019 – this being our fifth edition. More than 2000 athletes competed in over 18 sports, with women’s teams in five disciplines. This is the first time that we had a women’s weightlifting competition, with encouraging participation, Organising Committee President Daljeet Singh Sidhu said.
“With participants from Australia, India, Canada and, of course, New Zealand, it was our biggest event ever. Next year, we aim to introduce boxing as well,” he added.
New Zealand Kabaddi World Cup
World-class Kabaddi skills were also on display at Takanini Gurdwara, with organisers of the 2023 Kabaddi World Cup welcoming around 100 athletes from India, Australia, Pakistan, Canada, the United States and host New Zealand.
They competed in the sport’s first global competition hosted by New Zealand in nine years.
The last such tournament was held in 2014, with organisers seeking to make it an annual affair.
The final was won by the team representing Australia defeating the one representing the United States. The team representing Pakistan nabbed third, while fourth place was awarded to the team representing New Zealand.
The Best Stopper Award went to Amrit Aulakh, while the best raider of the tournament was Jashan Alamgir. Both represented the Australian team.
“The original dates of the circle-style Kabaddi World Cup were 18 and 19 November, but we had to postpone the event by a week because of bad weather. The global tournament marked the inauguration of New Zealand Sikh Stadium, which is located behind the gurdwara,” Sukhjap Singh, a member of the New Zealand Sikh Sports Complex and part of the organising committee said.
Supreme Sikh Society of New Zealand President Daljit Singh said that more than 25,000 people attended the two-day event.
“Along with the World Cup, we also hosted a local kabaddi tournament in which eight New Zealand clubs competed. In addition, there were mini-local tournaments involving other sports such as Football, Volleyball, Sprints, Basketball, Hockey and Netball,” he said.
Gaurav Sharma is a Senior Journalist at the IndoNZ segment of Radio New Zealand. The above Report and pictures have been published under a special agreement with www.rnz.co.nz
