Photos from the Kabaddi World Cup as tournament is held outside of Asia for the first time

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — With acrobatics, skill and guise, raiders chanting “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” have been trying to elude defenders at the first Kabaddi World Cup to be held outside of Asia this week.

Men’s and women’s teams from nine countries have been taking part in the tournament in central England, where the finals were to take place on Sunday.

Kabaddi has likely been played in one form or another for some 4,000 years. Two teams of seven players line up opposite each other on a small court. One team attacks and the other defends. While attacking, one player – the raider – will enter the other team’s half and attempt to touch as many of the opposition players as possible, or cross a bonus line in the opposition half, before returning to his or her half, all the while chanting the word “kabaddi.”

The defending team will try to stop them by tacking the raider or pushing the raider out of the court after one of its players has been touched.

A raider can score points by successfully touching opposition players or crossing the bonus line and returning to their own team’s half. Defenders can also score points, but any who are tagged or touched must exit the court. They can be revived by teammates if their team subsequently pulls off a successful raid over the course of the match. The team with the most points at the end of the match wins.

All Friday’s matches took place in Walsall, where the University of Wolverhampton has a campus. Birmingham and Coventry also hosted matches, while the finals were to be staged in Wolverhampton.

Host nation England was to face India in the both the men's and women’s sold-out title deciders.

Here is a photo gallery of some of this week's action curated by AP photo editors.

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England players celebrate beating Hong Kong in a quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Hungary's Daniel Levay lunges at his Indian opponent during their quarterfinal match of the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Officials gesture as Scotland face the USA during a quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup, in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Zsombor Farcas of the Hungary, second right, runs the risk of being surrounded as he raids into the India half during the quarterfinals of the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A team talk takes place between members of the India women's team during their semifinal match against Hong Kong at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

England players face a lone Wales raider during their semifinal at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A member of the Scotland coaching team speaks to his players during their quarterfinal match against the USA at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A member of the USA team is interviewed after their quarterfinal match against Scotland at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Hong Kong's Kowk King Yip, second right, conducts a raid into England territory during their quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

An image of the detail on an England shirt at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Scotland players, in black shorts, face the USA during their quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Spectators look on as Scotland face the USA during a quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Scotland players link hands during their quarterfinal match against the USA at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

England's Shreyas Annadate, center, attempts to score with a kick during a raid into Hong Kong territory during their quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

England players have their hair platted before their semifinal match against Wales at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Scotland's Dushyant Kadian shouts to disorientate a USA raider during their quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

England's Hardeep Singh helps a family member in a wheelchair at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

India's Balraj Singh faces linked members of the Hungary team during the quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

USA competitors line up for the national anthems before their quarterfinal against Scotland at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Members of the India women's team warm-up before their semifinal match against Hong Kong at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

USA face Scotland in the quarterfinals of the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

England's Imane Sbihi, center, is tackled as she conducts a raid into the Wales half during their semifinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Gurinder Singh, also known by his nickname 'Judge' of the USA is tackled as he makes a raid into the Scotland half during their quarterfinal match at the Kabaddi World Cup, in Walsall, England, Friday, March 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)