Kabaddi is a fast-paced, action-packed sport that puts players’ stamina, speed, agility, and endurance to the test. All these elements are essential to the sport because players must move continuously for a significant portion of the gameplay. However, while kabaddi demands a high level of physicality, it also weighs heavily on muscular coordination, keen concentration, and intellectual strategy. We will discuss this in more detail later in this guide.

“The game of the soil,” as kabaddi was known in ancient India,  is one of the numerous indigenous Indian games that has established itself as a recognized sport in today’s global sporting landscape. While the sport has always been notable in the Indian community, it was buried in obscurity under the shadow of other popular sports like cricket and hockey for a long time. However, the narrative has changed in recent years, as the sport now commands the interest of many people with its notable tournaments and events, creating a massive fanbase for itself. This significant shift has also resulted in a surge in the number of young athletes dreaming of making it big in sports as kabaddi athletes, not only in India but also in other countries worldwide.

With the thrill and excitement surrounding every moment of the sport, it is no surprise that it has recently gained prominence in the global arena. Although there is still more ground to cover in the sport’s development and expansion, its growth thus far has been nothing short of fascinating, especially considering where it was coming from. 

This article will cover everything you need to know about how the sport is played, its history, rules, styles, required skills, notable competitions, and much more.

History of Kabaddi

There are numerous unconfirmed origin stories about kabaddi. Many believe the sport originated in prehistoric India as a practice to fend off invaders. In contrast, other stories claimed that it first came into the picture during the Vedic period of ancient India when the Kauravas raided and kidnapped Abhimanyu during the Kurukshetra battle. 

Another version of the origin story affirms that the game was already popular in ancient India and that even Lord Krishna (a famous Hindu god) played it when he was young. While all these stories may seem unverified, uncertain, or confusing, one common fact is that they all referenced India as the origin of the sport. 

Origin of the Game

A story regarding the Indian origins of the sport that appears to be more accurate than others is the one that links kabaddi’s origins to the old Tamil Indian subcontinent, which includes present-day Tamil Nadu and other southern areas of India. In fact, the sport’s name was said to be derived from the Tamil term “Kai-pidi,” which means “holding hands.” 

Regardless of these narratives, one certain truth is that Kabaddi began in India. In fact, besides the consistency of the stories about India being the origin of the sport, the fact that the sport’s popularity has always been known in India and that the country has dominated it more than any other place is sufficient proof of this fact.

Although kabaddi had been a part of Indian history for ages, it was not formally recognized as a sport until 1921, when the basic rules that guided the game were first formulated. After this, a committee was formed in 1923 to oversee and regulate the sport. The primary responsibility of this committee was to see to the sport’s development by making needed modifications to various aspects of the game. One of the first significant accomplishments of the committee was organizing the all-India Kabaddi tournament the same year. It also managed numerous additional tournaments as the sport attained widespread popularity across the country. 

Once Kabaddi began as a sport in India, it didn’t take long before it caught international attention. The sport was demonstrated at the 1936 Olympics games in Berlin, and two years later, it was featured in Calcutta’s 1938 Indian Olympic Games.

Evolution and Development of Kabaddi as a Sport

The inclusion of Kabaddi in the Indian Olympic Games accelerated the sport’s growth, leading to the establishment of the All-India Kabaddi Federation in 1950. Nonetheless, the game did not receive the worldwide attention it deserved since it was primarily practiced as an amateur sport in most Indian communities at the time. However, it eventually made a significant stride into the international scene when it was exhibited at the 1951 Asian games in New Delhi. 

By 1973, another federation, the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), was founded. This federation organized the first men’s nationals Kabaddi tournament, which was held in Tamil Nadu. The Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF) was also founded in 1979, and it championed the first considerable expansion of the sport outside India, primarily to other nearby Asian countries. The AKF introduced the first edition of the Asian Kabaddi Championship (AKC) in 1980, from which India emerged as champion and Bangladesh was runner-up. Bangladesh again finished second to India in the following edition of the tournament, which was held in Jaipur, India, in 1985. Japan, Nepal, and Malaysia were the other countries involved in the competition.

Kabaddi was also exhibited at the 1982 edition of the Asian Games, but it was not until 1990 that it was eventually included as an official sport in the tournament. The 1990 edition of the Asian Games involved seven countries: India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. And just like in the Asian kabaddi championship, India again clinched gold in the competition, with Bangladesh coming second. India has since then dominated the competition, winning seven of the eight tournaments held.

State of the Sport Today

Today, kabaddi as a professional sport has expanded its tentacles beyond Asia to other countries in Europe, Africa, Oceania, and America. In fact, it is now played as a modern sport in over 65 nations worldwide, with several notable Kabaddi tournaments held yearly. However, the sport’s popularity is not restricted to the countries where it is played professionally alone. It has also built a substantial fan base in other non-Kabaddi-playing nations worldwide. 

According to the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup viewership data, 114 million people worldwide tuned in to watch the Kabaddi World Cup matches live. The finals between India and Iran in that same competition became one of the top 50 most-watched events on television that year. Of the various Kabaddi tournaments worldwide, which we will discuss later in this article, the Indian Premier Kabaddi League (PKL) is a notable one that attracts tons of fans and viewers worldwide. The prominence of the PKL has also influenced the establishment and growth of other Kabaddi national leagues, like the Super Kabaddi League in Pakistan.

How to Play the Game

Perhaps, the simplest way to describe Kabaddi to someone who hasn’t heard about it is to call it a professional game of tag. Kabaddi has evolved over the years from a sport of brute physical strength to become a game of fitness, agility, temperament, and strategy. Presently, there are many variants of the sport. However, the most internationally recognized version is the standard kabaddi.

The sport is played with two teams of seven players each. The teams engage in a forty-minute face-off, divided into two halves of twenty minutes, with a five-minute break. The objective of    the sport is to score as many points as possible, and the team with the highest number of points at the end of the match wins.

Kabaddi Point Scoring System

A Kabaddi game starts with one team assuming the offense while the opposing team assumes the defense. Both teams alternate between attack and defense with each game round. To start a game round, a player from the attacking team enters the defensive half as the “raider” with the aim of touching/tagging as many players from the defending team as possible. For every player tagged, a point is awarded to the attacker’s team. The raider also has to get back past the midline to his half of the court in 30 seconds, or the raid is considered empty, and no point is awarded to his team.

The returning process of the raider presents an opportunity for the defending team to score a point as well, as they can physically tackle the raider to prevent him from returning successfully to his half. If they succeed, the attacking team scores no points for all the players tagged, but the defense gets points instead. 

However, if the raid is successful, all players tagged are put out of the game for that round. Each team has an opportunity to revive an eliminated player to be brought back into the match if they score a point during their raid. When a raider successfully completes a raid that tagged out all players on the opposing team, the eliminated team is declared all-out, and the attacking team earns extra points for delivering an all-out attack. The entire team returns to the court for a new round of play whenever a whole team has been eliminated. 

An attacking team can also score bonus points when the raider crosses the bonus line and completes the raid successfully. However, this can only be done when six defending players are on the court. A raid can only last for 30 seconds, and the raider is mandated to shout Kabaddi repeatedly while performing the raid.  

Essential Elements and Rules of the Game

Various other elements like the court lines, scoring system, game duration, and rules govern different in-game scenarios in kabaddi. These elements and rules vary slightly with each game variant. However, most top Kabaddi bodies and leagues like the PKL, World Cup, and Asian Games follow the standard Kabaddi blueprints. It is also noteworthy that the standard kabaddi is not extremely different from other variants; in fact, they are pretty similar. 

Kabaddi Game Court

The game is played in a rectangular court of an area of the 130-meter square (10m × 13m). This dimension, however, differs for the female court, which has an area of 96-meter square (8m × 12m). The court is divided into two equal sides by a midline, which the raider has to cross to his half to complete a successful raid. Other important court features include the baulk line, bonus line, and lobby. 

• Baulk line

This is a second line parallel to the midline drawn on the court. The baulk line is drawn at both halves of the court, just before the bonus lines, and a raider also has to cross the opposing team’s baulk line before they can start scoring points. The raid points are not valid if the line is not crossed with at least one foot while the second foot is in the air.

• Bonus line

The bonus line is the third parallel line on either side of the court, similar to the baulk line. When a raider crosses this line with at least one foot while the other is in the air, they earn a bonus point. However, the line is only functional when at least six defenders are on the raider’s opposing team. 

• Lobby

The Kabaddi court also includes an area beside the court sideline called the lobby. The lobby area of the court is demarcated from the main court by a vertical line perpendicular to the mid, baulk, and bonus lines. Raiders and defenders can only step on the lobby after contact with each other. The raider can use the lobby to escape back to his side of the court after tagging defenders. The defender can also use it to tackle the raider before he crosses the midline when returning.    

Match Duration

A Kabaddi game lasts forty minutes, separated by a five-minute break into two halves of twenty minutes. However, in a knockout situation with no winner after the specified match duration, the game is extended for an extra seven minutes, separated by a one-minute break into two halves of three minutes each. If the winner is not still decided after the added time, the game is then determined by a golden raid. A coin toss will decide the match’s outcome if the game is still tied after the golden raid.

Match Dress Code

The prescribed dress code is usually a short and a vest. Since the game requires a lot of physicalities, players must avoid dresses that don’t fit or hang loosely.

Teams

Each kabaddi team comprises 12 players, with seven starting the match and five serving as substitutes. It is noteworthy that only the team leader/coach can make substitution decisions and give important instructions to players during the game.

Officials

There are a total of six officials assigned to oversee a Kabaddi match. They include two umpires, a referee, a scorer, an assistant scorer, and one other technical official on standby. The referee oversees most parts of the match. He has the right to declare a point, warn a player, or disqualify a player or other non-playing participants like the coach. 

He also has the power to overturn an umpire’s decision, although this doesn’t usually happen. The scorer and assistant scorer are delegated to record match scores, timings, and time-outs, as well as players who have been put out and those who survived raids.

Player Roles

Like in every other sport, each player is assigned a specific role or position in a Kabaddi game. There are four traditional player positions: the corners, covers, ins, and raider.

• Center (Raider)

The center is usually the star raider of the team. He is mostly considered to be the most important player on the team because he is charged with the primary duty of scoring points. He is the attacking player that runs into the opposing side of the court to score as many points as possible by tagging the defenders and making it back safe to his half of the court.

• Corner

The corners are very crucial to the defense. They are situated at the extreme ends of the seven defenders. The raiders usually target them first; therefore, they must be quick to dodge and possess a firm grip for a strong tackle.

• Cover

There are two covers on either side of the defensive line, but they are positioned between the corners. These players are usually super tackle specialists, with excellent block, dash, and thigh hold.

• In

The ins are positioned at the center of the defensive line with the center (star raider) in between them. One of their primary responsibilities is to protect the star raider of the team so that he is not tagged out early.

Kabaddi Game Terminologies

Like in other sports, there are certain terms and concepts associated with kabaddi. It is essential to understand these terms, to have a proper understanding of the game. Here are some of them:

Golden Raid

The golden raid decides a match-winner when the two teams end the match in a draw, even after the extra time. Each team will field seven players, after which a coin is tossed to determine the attacking team. The raider from the attacking team will then raid to score points, and if he successfully scores at least one point, his team wins the match. The raider can also score a bonus point in this tiebreaker match. However, the out and revival rule is not applicable in this case. 

All-out

When a raider successfully tags out all defenders on the opposing team, an all-out is declared. The attacking team gets two extra points for an all-out.

Chant

The chant is a mandatory action for raiders in the game. A raider is expected to repeatedly chant the word “Kabaddi” throughout their raid for them to get valid points.

Empty Raid

An empty raid is a failed raid. It means the raider had scored no points during a raid either by failing to tag any player, failing to cross the baulk line before tagging, or getting tackled down by the defenders without crossing the midline back to his team territory.

Do-or-die Raid

After two consecutive empty raids from a team, the raider in his third raid will embark on what is known as a do-or-die raid. The raider must score at least a point to avoid elimination from the game.

Super Raid 

This happens when a raider successfully scores three points by tagging out three players or two players plus a bonus point. Whichever it is, he is said to have performed a super raid.

Super Tackle 

The super tackle is another means of earning points for the defending team. This happens if a defender succeeds in tackling down a raider when there are three or fewer defenders on the court.

Chain Tackle

Chain tackle happens when a combination of two or more defenders hold hands and tackle a raider all at once.

High 5

A high five is recorded when a defender completes five or more tackle points in a single match.

Pursuit

This is when a defender chases the raider down to prevent him from getting back to his half before the given 30 seconds of the raid is over.

Revive Sequence

This means reviving players according to their order of elimination. The first player to be eliminated must also be the first to be revived.

Super 10

A raider gets a super 10 when he scores more than 10 raid points in a single match.

Kabaddi Skills

Kabaddi has evolved over the years from a game that requires only brute physical strength to a game of skill, balance, coordination, and strategy. Here are some of the most prominent skills of the game:

Offensive Skills

Offensive skills are primarily performed by raiders. These skills are needed to score points and avoid defenders’ tackles to perform a successful raid. Some of the most popular offensive skills include the back kick, the toe touch, the sidekick, the hand touch, the lion jump, and the dubki.

• Back Kick

The back kick, also known as a mule kick, is a skill that the raider employs to deceive the defense by turning his back to them and kicking backward to tag a player and earn a point. 

• Toe touch

This involves the raider touching the defender with his toe and grabbing a point. It is one of the popular attacking skills that raiders use. To execute this skill, the raider has to be fast and unpredictable.

• Sidekick

The raider kicks sideways in an attempt to touch the defender. He, however, has to do this without losing his balance. Hence proper body balance is important.

• Hand touch

The hand touch simply involves touching the defender by hand. It is the most basic attacking skill for any raider. It could be a running, stooping, or turning hand touch. 

• Lion Jump

The lion jump is a skill employed by the raider to escape. He attempts to jump over a defender to reach the midline and complete the raid successfully. This skill is, however, very technical and requires a high level of athleticism.

• Dubki 

The dubki is a move that the raider pulls to evade a chain tackle by ducking below the stretched arms of the incoming defenders.

Defensive Skills

Defending in Kabaddi also requires specific skills to avoid a raider’s touch efficiently and effectively tackle them down when returning to prevent the success of a raid. Some notable Kabaddi defensive skills include ankle hold, block, thigh hold, waist hold, dash, and chain tackle.

• Ankle hold

The defender performs an ankle hold when he latches on to a raider’s ankle to prevent them from scoring a bonus point. If the hold is effective, the raider is rendered immobile as a result of the grip.

• Block

The block is another defensive move in which a defender blocks the path of a returning raider by standing directly in their path. The defender aims to prevent the raider from crossing the midline with a block. 

• Back hold

The back hold is another important defensive skill. With this move, the defender quickly grabs the raider and attempts to flip them to the ground. 

• Dash

The defender attempts to forcefully push the raider out of bounds in a dash to make the raid fail. To execute the dash, pace and timing are essential, alongside teamwork.

• Thigh hold

With this skill, the defender holds the raider’s thigh to stop him from crossing the midline.

• Waist hold

The waist hold is another defensive move that the defender employs by holding the raider by the waist and flipping him down to pin him to the ground.

Variations of Kabaddi

Throughout its development and evolution, Kabaddi has evolved into many variants over time, all of which are relatively similar but differ slightly in their rules and gameplay. The two most common variations of the sport are the standard Kabaddi style and the circle style, also known as the Punjabi Kabaddi. Amar Kabaddi, Sanjeevani Kabaddi, and Gaminee Kabaddi are other notable local variations of the game, which are also usually classified as a subset of the Punjabi Kabaddi. 

Amateurs mostly play these three local variants in India alongside nineteen other local variants of the game. Standard Kabaddi is said to be a synthesis of these various variants, and it is currently the style recognized by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF). Let’s dive deeper into these multiple kabaddi variants to see what differentiates them.

Amar Kabaddi

Amar Kabaddi is played between nine to eleven players on each team, with each match lasting for 40 minutes. A team earns a point for every player it tags out of the game, which means that the more players the raider can touch, the more points his team scores. However, players declared out in this game can remain on the field for the rest of the match. Another major distinction of this variant is that the field of play has no specific measurement.  

Sanjeevani Kabaddi

A Kabaddi match played in the Sanjeevani variant also lasts 40 minutes with a five minutes break in between. Like the standard version of Kabaddi, the game involves seven players on each team. 

In this variant, teams also score points for every opposing player they put out. A team also gets four extra points if they get to put out all players on the opposing side. Eliminated players on the attacking team can also be revived and brought back into the game if the team’s raider puts out another player on the opposing team. 

Gaminee Kabaddi

The Gaminee style also involves seven players per team. In this version of Kabaddi, any player put out remains eliminated until all other team members are eliminated. There are no revivals. The game is won when a team reaches five or seven points, depending on what is agreed on before the match. 

The match also has no specific time duration; instead, it continues until one team reaches the specified number of points. However, scoring a point in this game variant is not by putting out a single player. It is after a team successfully puts out all players on the opposing team that it earns a point. 

Punjabi (Circle) Kabaddi

Punjabi Kabaddi is also known as Indian Kabaddi. From the word “circle,” this game variant is played on a circular field with a diameter of 22 meters. Like the standard version, Punjabi Kabaddi is also recognized on the international scene. In fact, it is played in major international tournaments like the World Kabaddi League and the Kabaddi World Cup. However, these international tournaments are played independent of the standard Kabaddi tournaments. Like the standard Kabaddi, the international Punjabi tournaments have also been dominated by India, having won the majority of the World Cup and Asian Games competitions.  

The other three amateur Indian variants and about 21 relatively obscure ones are considered a subset of the Punjabi variant. Its rules are more or less similar to those in the other local versions. However, in this case, it usually involves eight players on each team. The game lasts forty minutes, and like the Amar variant, players remain on the pitch even after being tagged out. 

Standard Kabaddi 

This international version of Kabaddi is governed by the standard kabaddi rules and gameplay, which involves seven players on each team and five other supplementary players available for substitution. Unlike Punjabi Kabaddi, the game is played on a rectangular court with specified dimensions.

Every player needs to remain within the borders of the pitch, as any player that goes beyond it is automatically eliminated. At the end of the match, the team that scores the highest point wins the game. Standard Kabaddi is regarded as the official Kabaddi form, approved by the International Kabaddi Federation. Hence, it is played as the official Kabaddi format internationally.

International Kabaddi Competitions

Over the years, kabaddi has grown to be a globally recognized sport played in over 65 countries, followed by many more worldwide. Here are some of the most internationally recognized Kabaddi competitions.

Kabaddi World Cup

The kabaddi world cup is the biggest Kabaddi competition worldwide. The most recent edition of the tournament in 2019 has been its largest so far, involving 32 men and 24 women teams. The competition had been held three times on previous occasions in 2004, 2007, and 2016. India has dominated the competition so far, winning the trophy on all four occasions.

The women’s version of the tournament has also been dominated by the Indian national team, as they have won all four tournaments played since 2012. 

Asian Games

Asian Games is one of the first international competitions to feature Kabaddi as a professional sport. So far, the competition has been held eight times since 1990, and India has been on a dominating streak in this competition too. However, the narrative changed in 2018, the latest edition of the tournament in which Iran emerged victorious, defeating India by 26 to 16 points. Iran also emerged victorious in the latest women’s version of the Asian Kabaddi Tournament to break India’s winning streak.

Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL)

The Indian PKL is the official Indian national Kabaddi league. Since its establishment in 2014, the sport generally has seen a significant growth surge in India and worldwide. The kabaddi community immediately accepted the league when it was first launched in 2014. In fact, over 435 million viewers tuned in to watch PKL matches in that inaugural season. The league is currently contested by twelve teams with the Dabang Delhi K.C. being the current title holders while Patna Pirates have won the most titles. Other notable kabaddi leagues include the Super Kabaddi League (SKL) in Pakistan and the Dubai Kabaddi Masters, among others.

European Kabaddi Championship

The establishment of the European Kabaddi Championship is a significant step in the spread of Kabaddi beyond Asia into European countries. The competition’s first edition was held in 2019, with Poland winning the tournament. The Poland team also retained their title in the second edition of the competition hosted by Cyprus in 2021. 

Women’s Kabaddi Challenge

The Women’s Kabaddi League is the women’s version of the Indian PKL. The league included only three teams when it was established in 2016 and did not turn out to be a success as it was wrapped up after the third season. 

Although the Indian women’s kabaddi at the national league level hasn’t been much of a success so far, the women’s national Kabaddi team has been impressive in international Kabaddi competitions, having recorded consecutive victories at the Women’s Kabaddi world cup and Asian games. 

The Progress of Women’s Kabaddi is not localized to India alone, as there are other national women’s Kabaddi teams actively involved in the sport worldwide. 

Overall, the growth of kabaddi is still continuous. With over 63 countries and 31 national Kabaddi bodies under the International Kabaddi Federation’s governance, there is a guaranteed positive future for the sport for both men and women.

Live Matches and Live Scores

With the popularity that kabaddi has gathered over the years, fans throughout the globe can now watch live matches from the PKL and other notable Kabaddi tournaments thanks to sports broadcasting outlets like Star Sports. For instance, you can watch a live telecast of the ongoing PKL Season 9 on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar from 7:30 PM onwards on Mondays. It is also possible to stream live Kabaddi matches across several tournaments of the sport on Youtube and other streaming apps.

Many media outlets and sponsors have also emerged in recent years to promote the sport globally, allowing fans to watch matches live and stay abreast of various kabaddi updates, match schedules, league standings, and news. For live scores and updates on your favorite kabaddi games, you can follow pages like Sportskeeda, SportsAdda, the official website of the PKL (for PKL games), etc.

Iconic Players in the History of Kabaddi

Kabaddi has witnessed several legendary players who have made a name for themselves in the sport’s history. One player that definitely comes to mind is the Indian national team’s top raider, Anup Kumar, who also played in the PKL with U Mumba and the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Anup Kumar ended his outstanding career with over six international trophies, including a World Cup and two Asian Games titles. He also won the PKL with U Mumba. He is also popularly known as Bonus ka Badshah, a nickname he earned due to his exceptional ability to earn bonuses.

Ajay Thakur is another iconic player that cannot be ignored in the history of the sport. He also won the 2016 Kabaddi world cup with India and captained India to gold at the Asian Kabaddi championship. There are other several players who have also made and are still making exploits in the sport, such as Pardeep Narwal, Rahul Chaudhari, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Sandeep Narwal, and many others.

Kabaddi Betting

Sports Betting is one aspect of sports that cannot be overlooked. As Kabaddi continually grew over the years, it became prominent in the betting community. Today, the sport attracts massive betting action from fans worldwide. Many bookmakers now include notable Kabaddi competitions like the PKL in their betting options. Therefore, punters can now bet on any kabaddi game of their choice across different betting markets, including the top raider, match winner, number of raids, number of fouls, etc.

Conclusion

Kabaddi has a long-standing history and holds a rich heritage in India. This ancient game has gained massive significance in today’s global sporting arena and is now known as an international contact sport where two teams of seven players each compete. While there is still potential for improvement of the sport in certain areas, it is an undeniable fact that its growth thus far has been remarkable.