On Sunday May 27 the annual Guru Nanak Sport Festival took place at the Gurdwara site on Trinity Road. Around 3000 people who attended enjoyed a day of traditional sport from the Indian sub-continent. The main focal point of interest was the Kabbadi Tournament. Kabbadi is a popular sport which originates from the Indian Sub Continent. The aim of the game is to score points by raiding into the opponent’s court and touching one many defence player without getting caught on a single breath. 16 teams from around the UK including Coventry, Barking, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester and Coventry participated alongside local teams from Gravesend, Medway and Erith.

Gravesend were the eventual winners beating Coventry, Leicester and local rivals Medway in the final which was greatly enjoyed by the home crowd.

The Festival was organised by the GNG Gravesend Kabbadi Club in partnership with the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara with the support of Kent Equality Cohesion Council.

Satnam Mothada from the GNG Gravesend Kabbadi Club said” I was very pleased with our performance,  It is always good to win at your home tournament and to beat our local neighbours made it even sweeter.  It was really good to see so many people come out and support this community sports festival and our event in Gravesend is recognised around the UK as one of the best organised.  Much credit for that needs to go to our partners and volunteers who worked so hard on the day.”

Gurvinder Sandher from Kent Equality Cohesion Council said” A lot of hard work has gone into putting this event together.  Much credit needs to go not only to the GNG Gravesend Kabbadi Club and Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara but also Kent Police and Gravesham Borough Council with whom we worked very closely in the build up and on the day itself to ensure everything ran smoothly. I strongly believe that our festival is a beacon for other Kabbadi festivals in the UK; this is mainly due to the strong partnerships that exist locally between the community and our statutory partners.”