By Amelia Harper
What is Kabaddi?
Kabaddi is a popular contact sport in Southern Asia that first originated in Ancient India. It is played across the country and is the official game in the states of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Telangana and Maharashtra. Outside of India it is a popular activity in Iran, is the national game of Bangladesh and is also one of the national sports of Nepal where it is taught in all state schools.
Kabaddi is also popular in other parts of the world where there are Indian and Pakistani communities such as in the United Kingdom where the sport is governed by the England Kabaddi Federation UK.
The Game
The overall object of the game is to simply score more points than the opposition team within the allotted time. To do this, each team must attempt to score points by both attacking and defending.
When attacking, the offensive team sends across a raider into the opposition’s half who must touch one of more members of the opposition to score a point. When defending, the objective is to capture the raider by wrestling them to the ground or simply by preventing them returning to their own half by the time their breath is up.
Their breath...!? Keep reading to find out how this is done!
Still wondering? Have a watch of a game from the Pro Kabaddi League.
Players
Kabaddi is played by two teams that both consist of twelve players each. However, only seven players per team are allowed on the field of play at any one time.
The Kabaddi playing surface measures 13m x 10m and is separated into two halves by a white line, one team occupying each half.
Scoring
Scoring in Kabaddi is relatively simple. Teams score one point for each opponent that they put out of the game. Putting an opponent out (and thus scoring a point) is done in different ways.
When attacking, this is done by the raider touching opposition members, putting them out. When defending, it is done by preventing the raider returning to their own half.
Bonus points are also available in Kabaddi. The raider can earn an extra point by successfully touching the bonus line in the opposition’s half.
Three bonus points are available to a team when all of their opponents are declared out and a point is also available if any part of an opposing team member’s body goes outside of the boundary.
To win a point when raiding, the raider must take a breath and run into the opposition’s half and tag one or more members of the opposing team and then return to their own half of the pitch before inhaling again.
To prove that another breath hasn’t been taken, the rider must continue to repeatedly yell the word ‘Kabaddi’. Failure to do this, even for just a moment means that the rider must return to their own side of the court without points and the opposite team is awarded a point for a successful defense play.
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