Fact Check: Viral Slap Kabaddi video misidentified as Indian is from Pakistan

By Vikas Bhadauria:

A video that’s been making waves online shows an unconventional showdown between two men, as they land resounding slaps on each other’s chests. Many who shared the video claimed that this strange sport was played in India.

One person sharing the video wrote, “Indian slap fights are a new trend that’s emerging on TikTok.” The archived link of one such post can be seen here.

India Today found that the viral video of the slap fight is from Pakistan, and not India. Popular in rural Pakistan, the sport is known as “Thappad Kabaddi” or “Slap Kabaddi”.

Our Probe

The text at the top of the video read, “Jahagir Pappu and Asif Jatt,” likely identifying the two men in the video. A reverse search of keyframes of the viral video along with the two names led us to a short video on the YouTube channel “Kabaddi da Nasha,” dated June 24, 2023. The About section of the channel mentioned that it was run by a person named Muhammad Mustafa. The description further stated that the channel hosted videos of Kabaddi matches.

On further investigation, we came across another video featuring Jahangir Pappu's match against a player known as "125" on the same YouTube channel. After comparing the face and costume of Jahangir Pappu in both videos, we realised that they were the same person. A comparison can be seen below.

At the beginning of the video, the commentator could be heard saying that the match’s location was Chak Chopa in Bahawalnagar, a city in Pakistan. Towards the end, he once again referenced Pakistan.

Slap Kabaddi is a sport that includes two players taking on each other by slap beating on the chest until one has enough. Despite its name, the sport, which is played in open arenas in Pakistan, is less like Kabaddi and more like wrestling.

Haji Tassawur, a Slap Kabaddi player from Pakistan, explained the rules of the sport during an interview with BBC. He said, “In Slap Kabaddi, two wrestlers must engage in a fight. The match is between two individuals. One player scores the point by hitting, while the other player defends to erase that point. Punches are fouls. You can slap your opponent as many times as you want, the number of slaps isn’t an issue.”

Thus, while we couldn’t independently identify where the video was shot, it’s more than clear that the video is from Pakistan, not India.