KABADDI RAO (Ejjapureddi Prasad Rao) was born on 1^st July 1954 at Berhampur, Orissa as the third child of Smt E. Jagadamba garu & Shri E Chandrashekar Rao garu. His six siblings include three brothers, [late] Shri E Nageswara Rao, Shri E. Venkateswara Rao, Shri. E Ramakrishna Rao and three sisters [late] Smt Shyamala Kumari, Smt ManiKumari and Smt Manjula Kumari. While his father, a police officer with the Orissa Government took up assignments in various parts of Orissa, the formative years of Prasad Rao were spent in Vizianagaram Andhra Pradesh, his native land, in the company of his maternal grandmother, mother and siblings.

His initiation to Kabaddi was in the Municipal High School at Vizianagaram under the tutelage of [late] Shri Y. Bhagwan Das Garu, the Physical Education Teacher attached to the school, his mentor and guide, who infused in Rao an everlasting love for Kabaddi. This, together with the encouragement and support of his Mother, led to Rao choosing Kabaddi as a way of his life and there was no looking back once he embarked on his sports career. He started off as a Kho-Kho player and later switched to Kabaddi in his youth. He represented the Andhra State  & the Orissa State in the National Championships in both Kho - Kho and Kabaddi under the guidence of [Late] Shri Y. Bhagwan Das Garu, whose life was dedicated to the sport, was instrumental in producing innumerable Kabaddi & Kho-Kho players, both Boys & Girls who went on to give an excellent performance at the State & National level.

He commenced his sports coaching career with a stint at the Physical Education College at Gopannapalem, Eluru, with a diploma in physical education. Armed with this diploma, Rao secured his first job in a Government School in Orissa as a physical education teacher. The turning point in his life occurred when he learnt of the Diploma Courses conducted by the National Institute of Sports and enrolled in the NIS Diploma Course in Coaching at the Sports Authority of India Netaji Subash Southern Centre, Bangalore. He completed the diploma with flying colours and was offered a teaching job in the same Institute the following year. Even as a member of the academic wing of the Sports Authority of India Bangalore, for well over a decade, he continued to take up active coaching assignments and trained several teams of the PSU’s, Armed Forces, Police etc with outstanding results. Meanwhile his marriage to Smt Mythreyee took place in Bangalore in the year 1985.

A couple of years later, he was posted to the SportsAuthority of India Western Centre which was set up at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in the year 1987. The Centre of Excellence in Kabaddi, with Rao as the coach, was introduced at Gandhinagar for the first time in the country. In this Centre of Excellence, numerous Kabaddi players were scouted, trained and polished by Rao for over a decade to bring laurels to the country. Several of the players under his coaching represented India and were instrumental in securing consistent Gold Medals in the Asian level and International level competitions. It is also worth mention that all his trainees invariably secured lucrative jobs in the Public Sector Undertakings such as the ONGC, Air India, Railways, Banking sector etc. He has the distinction of producing several outstanding Kabaddi players, no fewer than 12 Arjuna awardees, about 60 International Gold medal Winners in the Asian & other Tournaments as well as 400 National level Medal Winners from all over the country. He went on to do his Masters Degree in Physical Education from the Shivaji University, Kolhapur and has since embarked on a quest for a doctorate with Kabaddi as his muse.

He was instrumental in taking Kabaddi from Mud to mats and is considered a pioneer in bringing up this indigenous game from its rural, rustic status to its present Replica handbags modern, scientific and technologically improved International status. 

His contribution to promotion of Kabaddi, the indigenous game of India at the International level started in the year 1982 with the 9^th Asian Games hosted by India at New Delhi and is still going strong.  He has trained not only the Indian Team but has developed Kabaddi at the International level by training the teams of Japan, Korea, China, France, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Srilanka, Nepal, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Qatar, Oman, Macau,  UK and West Indies. He also conducted International Coaches / Technical Official courses and workshops of IKF/AKF  at Colombo (Srilanka) 1996, Khatmandu, Nepal 1999, Bangkok,  Thailand 2000, Pune, (India) 2001 & 2011, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 2002, 2007 & 2008 and Taisho University, Tokyo, Japan 2004, Doha, Qatar 2006, Macau [China] 2007, Bali [Indonesia] 2008,  Guangzhou, China 2010, Haiyang, China 2012, Incheon, Korea 2013 & 14, Hanoi [Vietnam] 2016,  Jakarta [Indonesia] 2018, Busan [Korea] 2019, Katmandu [Nepal] 2020, Dacca [Bangladesh] 2020 as Course Director of IKF/AKF

He has contributed to the field of sports literature in a big way by authoring four books on Kabaddi, which serves as an encyclopedia in Kabaddi. He has the distinction of getting his first book translated into Japanese by the Tokyo University. His books have also been translated in to Persian language by Iran Kabaddi Federation, in Thai by the University of Physical Education of Thailand and in Korean language by the Kabaddi Association of Korea.

At present he is the Technical Director of International Kabaddi Federation and the Asian Kabaddi Federation and is deeply involved in promoting Kabaddi all over the world. He is an integral part of the STAR SPORTS VIVO PRO KABADDI LEAGUE event organized in various parts of the country which got tremendous positive response from the public in India as well as all over the world. 

He has established the Kabaddi Rao’s Academy in Kolhapur Maharashtra for the nurturing of young talented male Kabaddi players, polishing the skills of elite players, providing amenities for teams from various parts of the country & foreign teams to conduct pre-competition coaching camps and conduct of short term Replica Rolex courses for Technical Officials & Coaches.  This academy also aims to prepare upcoming Kabaddi players to participate in the Junior & Senior Nationals, All India Inter – University Competitions and Talent Search drives of Pro-Kabaddi under the NYP [New Young Players] Programme. 

His experience at the International level in various capacities is as follows, in brief.

The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India under the able leadership of Shri. Janardhan Singh Gehlot, President [AKFI, AAKF & IKF] had a major role to play in bringing about a sea change in Kabaddi from its simple rustic status on to the International platform. Mr. Gehlot, was instrumental in conferring the honorary posts of Technical Director of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India and the Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation on Rao and gave him a free hand with all encouragement to promote Kabaddi at the International level. Rao is reputed to have spearheaded the modernization of Kabaddi to suit International standards by bringing Kabaddi from the mud to the mats. 

Rao’s contribution to the promotion of the indigenous game and the outstanding results of his coaching endeavours led to the prestigious 1^st Dronacharya Award in Kabaddi for 2002 conferred on him by the President of India, Hon’ble Abdul Kalam Azad, on 29^th August 2003 in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. This was a proud Replica Hublot moment for his family to see the long awaited fruit of his painstaking efforts for the cause of Kabaddi. 

WITH PRESIDENT OLYMPIC COUNCIL OF ASIA (OCA)

His Excellency SHEIKH AHMAD AL-FAHAD AL-SABAH

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION EXPERIENCE AS COACH 

With Mr. Jizhong WEI, OCA Life Vice President

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE AS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/DELEGATE 

Mr. Rao has authored the "Modern Coaching in Kabaddi" [In English] translated into Marathi-"Sastriya Kabaddi Prasikshan" and “The Complete Handbook on Kabaddi” [In English]. His Modern Coaching in Kabaddi has been translated into Japanese by Prof. Shigeru Kaneko and has been included in the syllabus of the Tokyo University, Japan. Besides this he has also presented several articles on various aspects of the game.

Sports literature authored & published by Rao:

1. Modern Coaching in Kabaddi - published by DVS publications, New Delhi – 1994
2. The Complete Handbook on Kabaddi - published by Jagadamba Publications, AP – 2002
3. Adunik Va Shastriya Kabaddi Prasikshan - published by Tara Rani Sports Club , Kolhapur – 1996
4. Coaching in Kabaddi in Japenese published by Japan UNI Agency, Inc., Tokyo – 2000
5. Scientific Coaching in Kabaddi in Arabic Language Published by the Islamic Republic of Iran Kabaddi Fedeartion
6. China Kabaddi ISBN 978 - 2017
7. KABADDI - Published in Korean by Korea Kabaddi Association 2017 & 2019
8. SLN RAO Collections for Health and Happiness - Jagadamba Publications BY E. Prasad Rao
9. 

SOME PRESS CLIPS & VIDEOS ON Mr. RAO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmwu_cdYT-Y

https://www.sportskeeda.com/kabaddi/pro-kabaddi-league-2017-season-5-amazing-story-kabaddis-shift-from-mud-to-mat

How mats came in kabaddi ?? Full Story in hindi || Many Thanks to Rao Prasad Sir || By KabaddiGuru

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYzy0YucanU

Scroll.in Tuesday, June 16th 2020

KABADDI KABADDI 

Going international: How Kabaddi, a quintessential Indian sport, became an Asian Games discipline

Much before Pro Kabaddi arrived to revolutionise the sport, kabaddi’s entry into the Asian Games was a massive boost to the sport’s ailing fortunes.

https://scroll.in/field/959860/going-international-how-kabaddi-a-quintessential-indian-sport-became-an-asian-games-discipline

Scroll.in  Tuesday, June 16th 2020

Kabaddi: Lobby rule to be altered, World Cup likely in 2020, says IKF technical director EP Rao

https://scroll.in/field/959860/going-international-how-kabaddi-a-quintessential-indian-sport-became-an-asian-games-discipline

A message from E. Prasad Rao (India) to Argentina Kabaddi Association

E. Prasad Rao is Technical Director from Asian Kabaddi Federation and IKF (International Kabaddi Federation)

https://youtu.be/gaiDViZXktM 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaiDViZXktM&feature=youtu.be

Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) had played the sport "Kabaddi" 

Little Buddha is a 1993 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and Mark Peploe, and produced by usual Bertolucci collaborator Jeremy Thomas. An international co-production of Italy, France, and the United Kingdom, the film stars Chris Isaak, Bridget Fonda and Keanu Reeves as Prince Siddhartha (the Buddha before his enlightenment).

Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Buddha

In the film Prince Siddhartha had played the sport "Kabaddi" during his youth to demonistrate his strength and power as a part of their tradition.

https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=732746187460610&_rdr

Quinns dives headfirst into Kabaddi, India's fastest-growing sport.

It's Time You Knew About Kabaddi: The Ancient Game That's Gone Pro

https://youtu.be/av1mr3UpdZk

Scroll.in Tuesday, July 14th 2020

From mud to mat: How kabaddi went from India’s indigenous game to multi-faceted professional sport

The shift to mat has made kabaddi a more raider-friendly game, but it’s not all gloom for defenders

https://scroll.in/field/940355/from-mud-to-mat-how-kabaddi-went-from-indias-indigenous-game-to-multi-faceted-professional-sport

TRAINING JAPAN MEN TEAM AT TOKYO IN 2003

RAO TRAINED THE JAPANIES MEN AND WOMEN TEAMS AT TAISHO UNIVERSITY, TOKYO IN THE YEAR 2003-04 UNDER THE GUIDENCE AND SUPPORT OF Dr. ICHISHIMA 

TRAINED THE INDIAN MEN AND WOMEN TEAMS FOR ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1981, DHAKA BANGLADESH AND FOR THE 9TH ASIAN GAMES NEW DELHI IN 1982 

MY TEAM AT 1990 BEIJING ASIAN GAMES WHICH WON THE FIRST GOLD MEDAL IN ASIAN GAMES, CHINA

RAO TRANING SRI LANKAN KABADDI TEAMS AT COLOMBO FROM 1996 TO 2000 FOR VARIOUS COMPETITIONS INCLUDING FOR THE 13TH ASIAN GAMES 1998 BANGKOK

Conducted Level one coaches coaches course at Kualalumpurm Malaysia in 2002

Training the Beach kabaddi teams of Thailand for the 1st Asian Beach Games held at Bali, Indonesia, where Thailand teams won Silver Medal in Women and Bronze Medal in  men sections.

TRAINED WEST INDIES KABADDI TEAM FOR THE 1ST WORLD CUP 2004 AT MUMBAI IN TORTOAL, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

STARTED A NEW ONGC KABADDI TEAM IN INDIA WITH THE HELP OF MR. JAGATI & DR. JEET AT GANDHINAGAR AND TRAINED THE TEAM FROM 1995 TO 2005, PRODUCED MANY INTERNATIONALS AND ARJUNA AWARDEES

DOHA  ASIAN GAMES 2006 WITH MANPREET & RAKESH    BUSAN ASIAN GAMES 2002 CELEBRATING WITH THE TEAM 

Various coaching courses conducted by Rao include:

1. Conducted International Coaches / Technical Official courses and workshops of IKF/AKF  at Colombo (Srilanka) 1996, Khatmandu, Nepal 1999, Bangkok,  Thailand 2000, Pune, (India) 2001 & 2011, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 2002, 2007 & 2008 and Taisho University, Tokyo, Japan 2004, Doha, Qatar 2006, Macau [China] 2007, Bali [Indonesia] 2008,  Guangzhou, China 2010, Haiyang, China 2012, Incheon, Korea 2013 & 14, Hanoi [Vietnam] 2016,  Jakarta [Indonesia] 2018, Busan [Korea] 2019, Katmandu [Nepal] 2020, Dacca [Bangladesh] 2020 as Course Director of IKF/AKF

2. Diploma course in Sports coaching in Kabaddi (NIS) from 1981 to 2000 at Bangalore & Gandhinagar as a Teaching Faculty Member

3. Advance & Refresher courses in coaching & certificate courses (NIS) as a Teaching Faculty Member at Gandhinagar, Bangalore, Gwalior and Aurangabad
4. As Technical Director Pro Kabaddi conducted courses for the Pro Kabaddi Technical officials and coaches from season 1 (2014) to date
5. Conducted workshops at Taisho University, Japan as visiting professor 

Y

I owe my present position to a lot of near & dear persons and & I would like to use this platform to express my heartfelt gratitude to them for their contribution in making me what I am today.

My parents, [late] Smt E. Jagadamba garu & Shri E Chandrashekar Rao garu who stood behind me and gave me all the encouragement and support in all my endeavours. The lion’s share of the credit goes to my mother who had complete conviction in my chosen career in the days when academics and a Government job were the ultimate for every child from the middle class background and sports were frowned upon as a waste of time and were not favoured as a career option. 

My brothers & sisters, [late] Shri E Nageswara Rao, Shri E Venkateswara Rao, Shri E Ramakrishna Rao, [late] Smt Shyamala Kumari, Smt Mani Kumari, Smt Manjula Kumari, their spouses and my wife, Mythreyee for their fortitude, support, patience and affection. 

THE EJJAPUREDDI CLAN

My guru, mentor and guide of my formative years [late] Shri Y. Bhagwan Das Garu, Physical Education Teacher of the Municipal High School Kaspa, Vizianagaram infused in me an everlasting love for Kabaddi. This, together with the encouragement and support of my Mother led to my journey with Kabaddi as my life's career. I started off as a Kho-Kho player and later switched to Kabaddi in my youth.

[Late] Shri Y. Bhagwan Das Garu, whose life was dedicated to the sport, was instrumental in producing innumerable Kabaddi players, both Boys & Girls who went on to give an excellent performance at the State & National level. Many of his pupils took up Kabaddi on a professional level and are placed in very good positions in Public Sector and Government Organisations. I am one among several such fortunate pupils who owe a debt of gratitude to our guru.

My mentors at a later stage in my life when I was on the threshold of my career include my teachers from Physical Education & National Institute of Sports, SAI Bangalore particularly Dr. H.V. Nataraj, Chief Coach who was a great source of inspiration and guidance during my course and later when I joined the academic faculty at SAI Bangalore. He remains a great mentor to me to this day.

My coaching career began in earnest in the year 1981, when the then President of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, Shri. Sharad Pawarji and [Late] Shri Onkar Prasad, Secretary General, & Late Shri. S.N.Salvi (BUVA), Chairman entrusted me with the coaching of the Indian Men kabaddi team for the 2nd Asian Championship at Dacca, Bangaladesh which was my first major International assignment.

​I am deeply grateful to [late] Shri. Chanda Hussain & Shri. P.K.Walanj, the then Technical experts of AKFI who honed my technical skills of the game and gave me free reign to implement various new techniques during my coaching. 

"The Man Behind my Success"

I owe a depth of gratitude to Shri. Janardhan Singh Gehlot, President, International Kabaddi Federation & Asian Kabaddi Federation, who reposed a great deal of faith in me and entrusted me with the duties of Technical Director of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India and the Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation. Shri. Gehlot, as the President of AKFI, AAKF & IKF took great pains to ensure that Kabaddi found a berth in the Asian Games as a regular priority discipline. Kabaddi happens to be the only team game of our country which has been accepted in its various forms of   Regular Kabaddi, Beach Kabaddi and Indoor Kabaddi as a priority discipline at the Asian level and the credit goes to Shri. J S Gehlot, who went all out to bring about awareness about Kabaddi and to persuade the other member countries of the OCA to take up Kabaddi in real earnest.  Due to his sincere efforts about 32 countries from Asia, Europe, America and Australia have adopted this sport and are affiliated to the International Kabaddi Federation.

In my association spanning over 30 years with Shri Janardhan Singh Gehlot, I always found him receptive to progressive ideas concerning Kabaddi and despite his busy schedule, he always gave maximum time to the promotion and development of Kabaddi. His firm support and the freehand, he gave me have made it easier to promote Kabaddi at the International level.

I am indebted to the various office bearers of the AKFI and State associations, from my native club to the National level, who were very supportive and encouraging in our joint quest for the promotion of Kabaddi at various levels.

I am very grateful to the Kabaddi players of yester years and Kabaddi enthusiasts from various parts of the country who have given me the encouragement & impetus to bring out literature on Kabaddi as my small contribution to the promotion of the game at the National & International level.

ASIAN KABADDI FEDERATION

The Asian Kabaddi Federation [AKF] was formed in the year 1978. The 1^st Asian Kabaddi Championship was held in the year 1980 and was included as a demonstration game in the 9th Asian Games, New Delhi in the year 1982. The game was included in the South Asian Federation (SAF) games from the year 1984 at Dacca, Bangladesh. Kabaddi was included as a regular sports discipline in the 11^th Beijing Asian Games 1990 CHINA, Hiroshima 1994 JAPAN, Bangkok 1998 THAILAND, Busan 2002 KOREA , Doha 2006 QATAR, Guangzhou 2010 CHINA, Incheon 2014 KOREA & in Jakarta 2018 INDONESIA ...

Ajmer Road, 

Jaipur – 302 021, 

India 

Tel. No. +91-141-2351983 & 2352135

Email: internationalkabaddi@gmail.com

M. MUHAMMAD SARWAR 

SECRETARY GENERAL 

ASIAN KABADDI FEDERATION

ROOM NO. 15, JINNAH STADIUM, SPORTS COMPLEX,

AABPARA, ISLAMABAD, PAKISTHAN

MBL.NO. +92-333-226473, +92-512-26-4732

Email: sarwarkabaddi@gmail.com, sarwarkabaddi@yahoo.com

The International Kabaddi Federation [IKF] was formed during the 1^st World Cup in Kabaddi 2004 at Mumbai in India. The First Asian Women Championship was held at Hyderabad in 2005 and Women Kabaddi was included for the first time in the South Asian Games held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2006.. The second World Cup was held in India at Panvel in 2007. The first World Cup in Women Kabaddi was conducted at Patna, India in 2012 and the Third World Cup Kabaddi Men was held in India at Ahmedabad in 2016

Mr. Yeong Hak Yoon, Secretary General, IKF

Hadan-Dong, Saha-ku, 

Busan 604-714, 

Republic Of Korea 

Tel No.  +82-51-207-0900, Email: ohakyoon@yahoo.co.kr