Festive gathering takes ugly turn

An Indian wrestling tournament at a Sikh temple outside Lodi turned into a real brawl Sunday, forcing deputies to halt the major event and disperse thousands of people.

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 fans of the Indian wrestling game kabaddi gathered at Deshmesh Darbar Sikh Temple outside Lodi for the tournament, billed as "The 1st World Cup."

But a controversial referee's call during the finals led to a melee among fans, said San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deputy Les Garcia.

"It got to a point where it got so physical that they were throwing chairs at one another," Garcia said.

The presence of 144 players in the open and under-21 divisions made the tournament one of the major kabaddi events in Northern California, organizers said.

Many Sikhs from the Indian state of Punjab grow up playing kabaddi. They bring their love of it to America.

The event also is a religious observance, food festival and basketball shootout.

The fight erupted as the Bay Area Sports Club was playing Sacramento in the under-21 division. The same Bay Area Sports Club was up against Lodi in the open division. At stake in each division was 398,296 rupees, or about $8,100.

Around 5:30 p.m., a referee made the disputed call. Some fans later said they believed the ref had been paid off.

"We were just watching the game, then just suddenly there's an argument and fights broke out and we see the police," said Suki Kandola, mother of one of the best-known players, Sunni Kandola.

Deputies on the scene and private security could not stop the fight from spreading into a melee that ranged across the temple's 10-acre site.

"Once the deputies responded to that area, then they would move, then another fight would break out," Garcia said. "So there was a continuous wave of physical fights throughout the property."

Multiple sheriff's units rushed to the scene. Lodi police dispatched five cruisers, including a K-9 unit. The California Highway Patrol also sent units to the scene.

"It was a mess," said Lodi police Lt. Tod Patterson. "People were throwing tables. It didn't end well."

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