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E Prasad Rao is one of the individuals driving the growth of Kabaddi. Rao has served as the International Kabaddi Federation’s technical director for the past 20 years and is currently the Pro Kabaddi League’s technical director.
The sport has undergone a metamorphosis thanks in large part to Rao. In an exclusive interview with CNN News-18, Rao discusses his early experiences playing Kabaddi and how he has contributed to its evolution and improvisation throughout time.
He revealed that he was a Kho Kho Player first and then moved to Kabaddi. However, he always wanted to be a Physical Education teacher. He did his diploma to become one and then a diploma in Kabaddi coaching followed later. He achieved great success in the sport, coaching the Indian team in the 1990 Asian Games when they won the gold medal. That is when Rao started comparing Kabaddi with other sports and started making different rules to make the sport attractive.
‘We tried to make the game a little faster and a little attractive’ – E Prasad Rao
“When I compared Kabaddi and other sports, the standard was lacking. If you want it to be an international sport, you need to develop from all the angles, the infrastructure, the facilities, the type of game, etc. So we started making new rules. We introduced the Bonus Line Rule. When there are six-seven players, if the rider doesn’t touch a defender, but touches the line, he gets one point.
“Similar rules were created and we tried to make the game a little faster and a little attractive, but still we were lacking. In 1990, first Asia Games for Kabaddi, India won only one gold medal that was in Kabaddi. Then I thought, we can’t continue playing on mud. If you want Europe and USA to play, it is impossible. If this continues, maximum six–seven countries will play Kabaddi.
“After winning the Dronacharya Award, I left coaching Indian team. I started working on the development of the game. I went to many countries and introduced the game to them. Then, I started working on different mats. We tried gymnastics mat, Judo mat, Volleyball mat.
“We conducted a competition in Pune in 1994-95 and confirmed that Kabaddi can be played on the mat. I was the coach of Sri Lankan team in 1998 and I saw a Taekwondo match. I requested for that mat and the boys said that this mat is feasible for Kabaddi. Then slowly I tried to convince all the countries that we have to shift to mat. So they changed my name from E Prasad Rao to Kabaddi Rao,” he revealed in the Interview.
