By Sana Agarwal
The LSESU’s Kabaddi team’s presence has been no short of a rollercoaster ride in the past few years. During one of the formatting weekends for The Beaver, a friend of mine, Aryan Khan, the Secretary of the club, decided to pay me a visit to the Media Centre after his Kabaddi training on a gloomy Sunday. We randomly sparked a conversation about the club which to me, unravelled its remarkability and legacy – something very deserving of the spotlight.
Pre-Covid the club had two women’s Kabaddi teams and two men’s teams. They had well-established membership numbers and organised many socials not just within LSE, but also with other Kabaddi clubs around the UK such as Oxford, KCL, Imperial and Manchester. However, since then the club has struggled with its survival. After COVID-19, Ahilan Parthipan, an LSE alumni, returned to represent Kabaddi Soc at the Fresher’s Fair – a clear display of their utter passion for the sport. When asked for a comment Ahilan expressed, “For a club that’s had a rich history of playing kabaddi since 2012, we couldn’t let the legacy of the club fade away due to Covid.”
Despite the club being non-existent after Covid, Ahilan managed to form a men’s team, win the LondonZone competition and “LSE AU Sports Team of the Year”, that same year. Since then, the team has also had the support of another England player and LSE alumni Tom Dawtrey who helps coach the team every week.
The club’s main challenge still lies in the recruitment process. “At the moment our team is mainly third years who are about to graduate. It is very important for the club to keep recruiting, we need freshers to carry it forward,” Aryan Khan explained. Enayeth Hussain, the president of the club added, “Oftentimes, niche sports like us are put aside by the Student Union, which makes it difficult to carry out effective marketing to attract members.” Kabaddi at LSE has witnessed a fall in membership due to the limited pool of students, whereas “KCL our neighbours have two teams, as they benefit from their larger pool of students.” Moreover, the lack of club members has isolated the club from many social events like Carol or AU Welcome. The club is now struggling to maintain membership numbers and has been in contact with the Student Union since, regarding their concern for its survival next year.
However, the club’s survival has left its undeniable success unstirred. The LSESU Kabaddi team emerged as champions in the LondonZone Regionals for the past two years consecutively and came in second this year. As stated by their coach Ahilan, they are striving to work harder with the ultimate goal of acing Nationals. For this, the team has been training regularly every Sunday with the guidance and mentorship of its alumni members, despite the limited funds supplied by the Student Union. The triumph of the club extends beyond the realm of the LSE campus and can be seen in its strong alumni consisting of four England players, two current and two former.
When talking about the sport, Enayeth expressed, “I was hooked by how much the sport challenges you on a physical level. A mix between rugby, wrestling and tag, the sport tests your strength, agility and speed.” He added, “my continued efforts at LSE derive from the family culture that kabaddi has. Our coaches who are LSE alumni all represent England and instil their strong passion for the sport into us. Although we are a smaller society, each and every one of us are close friends on and off the mat thanks to Kabaddi. It really breeds a strong sense of belonging when you join the team.”
The dynamic contrast between a struggle for survival, and an established legacy of success remains at the core of the LSESU Kabaddi team. A simple explanation for it – the unquestionable passion of a few individuals for the sport. The club has survived due to the dedication and resilience of its alumni coaches (who despite working full-time jobs in finance have been training the club every week) and its limited but passionate players.
Key quotes for Social Media Form:
1. “I was hooked by how much the sport challenges you on a physical level. A mix between rugby, wrestling and tag, the sport tests your strength, agility and speed.”
2. Enayeth Hussain, the president of the club added, “Oftentimes, niche sports like us are put aside by the Student Union, which makes it difficult to carry out effective marketing to attract members.”
3. When asked for a comment Ahilan expressed, “For a club that’s had a rich history of playing kabaddi since 2012, we couldn’t let the legacy of the club fade away due to Covid.”
4. The club has survived due to the dedication and resilience of its alumni coaches (who despite working full-time jobs in finance have been training the club every week) and its limited but passionate players.
Illustration by Mithalina Taib
