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Shankarrao Salvi (15 July 1931 – 15 February 2007) was an Indian
Kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...
player, coach and administrator. He was life president of Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India. Salvi is described as a persuasive speaker. His efforts in the field resulted in the merging of "hu tu tu" into a standardised version of kabaddi. Hu tu tu, a traditional game similar to kabaddi, played in
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
has nine players per side whereas the standard kabaddi is played with seven players per side. Traditionalists in Maharashtra had resisted replacement of the word "hu tu tu" with "kabaddi" a word more common in northern India. They had persisted in their resistance even after its acceptance in the southern India states. Salvi was a Royist, who cultivated good relations with the state government and lobbied with chief ministers of Maharashtra, to obtain state patronage for Kabaddi. He didn't abuse his contacts for personal benefits; when asked by the Chief Minister what he wanted, Salvi even though he lived in a rented house, requested for space for an administrative office for kabaddi. Salvi travelled widely to popularise kabaddi. In the 1970s, Salvi organised tours to
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and Japan. His efforts lead to the popularisation of the sport internationally and its being played in the Asian Games in 1990 where India won the gold medal. He was a member of the working committee of the
International Kabaddi Federation The International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), is an international governing body of the sport of kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In t ...
when the foundation was created in 2004. Salvi received the "Shiv Chhatrapati Rajya Krida Jivan Gaurav Puraskar", awarded by the
Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...
to sportspersons from Maharashtra for lifetime contribution to sports in 2005. He is popularly referred to as "Buwa Salvi" and honorarily as "Kabaddi Maharashi" or the grand old man of Kabaddi. He died on 15 February 2007 at the age of 75 in Mumbai. The 27th Federation Cup Kabaddi Tournament, held in May 2007 in Mumbai and organised by Maharashtra State Kabaddi Association was dedicated to Salvi. His birthday, 15 July, is observed as ''Kabaddi Din'' ("Kabaddi Day") in Maharashtra. The venue of the 57th Maharashtra State Kabaddi Championship was named after him as "Late Shankarrao Salvi Krida Nagri".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salvi, Shankarrao 1931 births 2007 deaths Indian male kabaddi players Kabaddi players from Mumbai Indian sports coaches