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Kabaddi
Kabaddi is a contact team sport, originating in south India in ancient times. The game, played by both men and women, is popular throughout the Indian subcontinent, especially in Tamil Nadu and Punjab, and is the national sport of Bangladesh. Kabaddi is now played in many other Asian countries and across the world. There are two teams of seven players. The object of the game is for a player, known as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of a court, tag any of the defenders, then return to his or her own half of the court without being tackled. Points are scored for each player tagged, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are tagged or tackled, but can be "revived" for each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle.
Court
In the Pro Kabaddi (see below) version of the game, two teams of seven players each occupy opposite halves of a court measuring 10 by 13 metres (33 by 43 feet) for men, and 8 by 12 metres (26 feet by 39 feet) for women.
The court may vary in size in local or international matches. Punjabi kabaddi is played on a circular court with a 22-metre (72-ft) diameter.
Play
There are two halves of 20 minutes, with a break of 5 minutes, during which the teams swap sides. The teams take turns to send a raider into the other's territory, or half. The raid becomes "valid" when he or she crosses a line called the baulk line. The raider attempts to tag any of the four (or more, in some forms of the game) defenders, then returns to their half of the court without being stopped. He or she has 30 seconds to complete the raid. When facing the raider, the defenders usually stand close together, holding each other's wrists.
The raider must start saying “Kabaddi” before he or she crosses into the opponents' half, and repeat it continuously—to prove they are holding their breath—until they cross back over to their own side. If the raider fails to do so, they are taken out of the game and one point is awarded to the defending team.
Points
A point is scored by the raider for each defender tagged, providing he or she safely makes it back to their own side. If the raider is successfully stopped or fails to complete the raid in 30 seconds, the opposing team gains a point. All players tagged are taken out of the game, but one is "revived" for each point a team scores from a subsequent tag or tackle.
In versions of the game where there are six or seven defenders, the raider gains an additional point if he or she manages to step beyond the bonus line.
A raid where no points are scored by the raider is called an "empty raid". If a raider gains three or more points, that play is called a "super raid". If a raider tags all the opposing players at once ("All Out"), they score an additional three points and all that team's players are revived. The team with most points at the end of the game wins.
Pro Kabaddi
The Pro Kabaddi League was established in 2014. In a bid to raise the popularity of the sport for television viewers, it was modelled on Twenty20 cricket's highly successful Indian Premier League (IPL). Twelve teams from across India play rounds of matches in each of the competing cities over six weeks.
For the Pro Kabaddi League, there are additional rules. If a team has two empty raids in a row, the next raider must score a point on their next raid or they will be out (this is called a "do-or-die raid"). When the defending team has fewer than four players left in play, tackles are worth two points ("super tackles").
History
Kabaddi originated in what is now the state of Tamil Nadu, south India, around 4000 years ago. The sport entered the international spotlight when it was selected as demonstration sport for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The sport was introduced to the Indian National Games at Kolkata in 1938. The All India Kabaddi Federation (AIKF) was founded in 1950. It established standard rules for all international competitions. The men's game was included in the Asian Games for the first time at Beijing in 1990. India won gold at every Games until Iran clinched the title in 2018.
The women's game was introduced to the Asian Games in 2010, and has been similarly dominated by the Indian team, although Iran also claimed gold in 2018.
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