Kabaddi
Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In the game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to tag the defenders and attempt to return within 30 seconds without being tackled. Points are awarded for successful tags, while defenders earn a point for tackling the raider. Tagged or tackled players are temporarily out but can re-enter when their team scores. Raids alternate between teams throughout the game.
It is popular in South Asia and nearby Asian countries. Although accounts of kabaddi are found in ancient India, the game was popularised as a competitive sport in the 20th century. It is the national sport of Bangladesh. It is the third most popular and viewed sport in India after cricket and football. It is the state game of the Indian states of Punjab, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.
There are two major forms: "Punjabi kabaddi", also called "circle style", consists of the traditional forms of the sport that are played outdoors on a circular field, and the "standard/rectangular style", which is played indoors on a rectangular court, and is played in major professional leagues and international competitions such as the Asian Games.
Name
This game is known by numerous names in different parts of the Indian subcontinent, such as: kabaddi or chedugudu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; kabaddi in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala; kabaddi, komonti or ha-du-du in West Bengal and Bangladesh; baibalaa in Maldives, kauddi-kauddi in Sindh, kabaddi in the Punjab region; hu-tu-tu in Western India, ha-do-do in Eastern India; chadakudu in South India; kapardi in Nepal; kabadi or sadugudu in Tamil Nadu; and chakgudu in Sri Lanka.Etymology
The raider is required to execute each raid on a single breath; in order to prove that they are not inhaling, they are required to repeatedly chant the word "kabaddi", in a process referred to as a cant. The term kabaddi is from a Tamil word composed of "Kai" and "Pidi", meaning "to hold hands".History
Ancient era
speculates in his book Nation At Play that kabaddi originated during the Vedic period. There are accounts of both Siddhartha Gautama and Lord Krishna having played an ancient form of the sport.According to the sport's origins, kabaddi is a sport developed centered on Jallikattu. A player going to the opposition is treated like a bull. It is like taming a bull without touching it, as it is mentioned in Sangam Literature that the game called Sadugudu was practised since ages.
There are also accounts of kabaddi having been played in Iran 2,000 years ago.
Modern era
Modern kabaddi is a synthesis of the game played in various forms under different names in the Indian subcontinent. India has been first credited with having helped to popularise kabaddi as a competitive sport, with the first organised competitions occurring in the 1920s, their introduction to the programme of the National Games of India in 1938, the establishment of the All-India Kabaddi Federation in 1950, and it being played as a demonstration sport at the inaugural 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi. These developments helped to formalise the sport, which had traditionally been played on muddy surfaces in villages, for legitimate international competition.The first framework of rules for the sport was prepared in Maharashtra in the 1920s, with English sports serving as a model for this formalisation. One of the earliest modern tournaments of the sport, the All India Kabaddi Tournament in 1923, was played according to these amended rules. After being demonstrated again at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, kabaddi was added to the Asian Games programme beginning in 1990.
The advent of the Pro Kabaddi League in 2014 revolutionised the standard style of the sport, with various rule changes being made; for example, whereas previously raids had no time limit other than the breathing capacity of the raider, the PKL rules introduced the concept of a standard 30-second time limit for every raid.
Variations
Standard style
In the international team version of kabaddi, two teams of seven members each occupy opposite halves of a court of in the case of men and in the case of women. Each has five supplementary players held in reserve for substitution. The game is played with 20-minute halves with a 5-minute halftime break during which the teams exchange sides. During each play, known as a "raid", a player from the attacking side, known as the "raider", runs into the opposing team's side of the court and attempts to tag as many of the seven defending players as possible. The raider must cross the baulk line into the defending team's territory, and then return to their half of the field without being tackled. While raiding, the raider must loudly chant kabaddi, confirming to referees that the raid is completed on a single breath without inhaling. Each raid has a 30-second time limit.A point is scored for each defender tagged; tags can be made with any part of the raider's body by touching any part of the defender's body. If the raider steps beyond the bonus line marked in the defending team's territory when there are six or more players, they earn an additional point known as a bonus point. If the raider is successfully stopped, the opposing team earns a point instead. All players tagged or tackled are taken out of the game, but one is "revived" for each point a team scores from a subsequent tag or tackle. However, bonus points do not revive players. In addition, players who step out of the boundary are out. However, the boundary of the field can vary mid-raid; there are two strips on either side of the court known as "lobby areas" which only become part of the field of play in raids where the raider touches an opponent.
A raid where no points are scored by the raider is referred to as an "empty raid". By contrast, a play where the raider scores three or more points is referred to as a "super raid". If a team gets all seven players on the opposing team out, they earn two additional points and then all the opposition players are placed back in the game.
In the event of a tie, PKL rules stipulate that each team is to perform five raids on the other team, with no time limits involved, no players being dismissed or revived, and the baulk line being simultaneously treated as a bonus line.
Styles of Indian kabaddi
There are four major forms of Indian kabaddi recognised by some amateur federation.- In Sanjeevani Kabaddi, one player is revived against one player of the opposite team who is out. The game is played over 40 minutes with a five-minute break between halves. There are seven players on each side and the team that outs all the players on the opponent's side scores four extra points.
- In Gaminee style, seven players play on each side and a player put out has to remain out until all his team members are out. The team that is successful in outing all the players of the opponent's side secures a point. The game continues until five or seven such points are secured and has no fixed time duration.
- Punjabi kabaddi is a variation that is played on a circular pitch of a diameter of.
Beach kabaddi
Indoor kabaddi
The Indoor kabaddi variant is played in two 15-minute halves by two teams of five players and is a shorter variant of standard style kabaddi. It is played at an international level in competitions such as the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.Governance
International kabaddi organisations
An international governing body called the International Kabaddi Federation has been established for the sport.Another kabaddi organisation named the World Kabaddi Federation was founded in 2003 and formally incorporated in 2005.
A different organisation called World Kabaddi was founded in 2018. It held its own Kabaddi World Cup competition in 2019 in Malacca, Malaysia, followed by its 2025 Kabaddi World Cup event in March 2025 in West Midlands, England.
Major competitions
International competitions
IKF Kabaddi World Cup
The Kabaddi World Cup is an outdoor international standard style kabaddi competition conducted by the IKF, contested by national teams.In 2024, it announced a plan to hold a 2025 Kabaddi World Cup in India in January 2025. The IKF men's competition has been previously contested in 2004, 2007 and 2016. All three of these tournaments were held in India and were won by India, and all had Iran as runner-up. To clinch the title in 2016, India defeated Iran by 38–29 in the final of the championship game.
The IKF has also held one women's World Cup event. It was held in 2012 in India. It was also won by India.
Junior Kabaddi World Cup
The inaugural Kabaddi World Cup organised by the IKF was held in Kish Island, Iran, 11–14 November 2019. It featured 13 teams. Iran won the tournament by defeating Kenya in the final, 42–22. Team India did not participate in this tournament.Asian Games
Kabaddi was played as a demonstration event at the First Asian Games in 1951, and again in 1982, before becoming a medal event for the first time in 1990.The Indian national team won every men's and women's kabaddi competition in the Asian Games from 2002 through 2014. At the 2018 Asian Games, Iran became the first country other than India to win gold medals in kabaddi, with India's men's team winning bronze, and India's women's team being beaten by Iran to win silver.