Kabaddi — What You Need to Know
Kabaddi has a long history on the Asian continent, specifically in India where the sport was popularized in the 20th century. Furthermore, kabaddi is considered the national game of Bangladesh. This contact sport is played between two teams of seven players each. It is played both outdoors and indoors, with the indoor form being the standard one.
One team’s player, the raider, is supposed to run into the opposite team’s half of the court while tagging out as many defenders as he can and then come back to his half of the court. While doing that, he shouldn’t let the defenders tackle him. The raider scores points by tagging out defenders. Defenders can score points for their team if they tackle the raider. Tackled players are taken out of the game but brought back in with each scored point by their team.
There are many international kabaddi competitions and kabaddi leagues played every year or every couple of years. The year 2017 brought new formats of the game with teams split into zones. You can follow the kabaddi points table for additional information about the teams.
Style Variations
As we’ve mentioned, there are both indoor and outdoor kabaddi courts, indoor ones being the traditional form. The indoor court is 10 x 13 meters long and each team occupies one half. There are 14 players on the court, and each team has five players in reserve. The game consists of two halves, each of which is 20 minutes long. There’s also a five-minute break in between for the teams to change sides.
What’s interesting is the fact that the raider needs to do his “raid” in one breath — without inhaling any air. There is a 30-second limit for each raid. The raider must yell “kabaddi“ repeatedly to let the referee know he has completed the raid in a single breath. He must do it until he goes back to his side of the court. An “empty raid” is a raid with no points scored, while a “super raid” is a raid with three or more points scored.
Additionally, there are four amateur outdoor forms. Sanjeevani kabaddi, Gaminee style, and Amar style are played on a rectangular field, but with different rules. Punjabi kabaddi is a form played on a circular pitch of a diameter of 22 meters. All games are 40 minutes long and have a five-minute break.
Kabaddi Competitions
The Pro Kabaddi League is probably the most popular kabaddi competition. It is a professional- level league in India, with the first event played in 2014. There are additional rules for the Pro Kabaddi League. If a team has two empty raids in a row, they must score a point in the next raid because that one is called the "do-or-die" raid. If a player does not score a point, they are out. If a raider does not score a point, the opposite team gets the point, and the raider is out. When there are less than four players on the field, tackles are worth two points.
Season 7 (2019) started in July and ended in October, featuring 12 teams. That year, they got rid of the “zones” system, previously used in 2017 and 2018. Each kabaddi team played against all the other teams twice. Bengal Warriors were declared champions by beating Dabang Delhi by five points.
The Kabaddi World Cup is another indoor competition that has been held only three times, the first time in 2004. The fourth time will be in 2020, most likely in Dubai. India has won all the previous championships. The current format of the game is a round-robin group stage, with six teams in two pools. The first Kabaddi World Cup for women was held in 2016.
Kabaddi has been a part of the Asian Games since 1990. The games are played every four years and India dominated the competition until 2018 when Iran swept the title. The women’s category started in 2010, again with India winning the first two games and Iran winning the last one in 2018.
Super Kabaddi League is a professional-level league played in Pakistan. There was immense interest in kabaddi in Pakistan, which is why they formed a league. The first season started in 2018 with a push to promote the sport. The current champions are Gujarat Warriors.