Kabaddi: Rough, Tough, Tactical and Enthralling

What you need to know about how the game of Kabaddi works, its history and role in culture, and its various formats

You weren't aware? Well, let us give a brief introduction to the game that graced the UK’s Channel 4 back in the mid-90s and kept many a student glued to a TV set for an hour once a week.

The Game in Brief

The long and short of it is that 2 teams of 7 occupy half a court (10x13 m for men, 8x12m for women). Each team takes it, in turn, to send a 'raider' into the opposition’s half.

The raider's job is to touch one of the opposition and make it back to his half without getting tackled. If he/she gets tackled and held, the defending team gets the points and the raider is eliminated.

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Seems easy? The caveat is that the raider has to hold his/her breath for the entire duration of their attack! Hence why the raiders chant "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" to prove to the referee that they haven't taken a breath. The raider must tag an opponent and return to his/her half without inhaling in order to get the points.

The attack is known as Raid, the defensive side is known as Antis, and the offensive team is known as Raiders. Raiders get "out" if they are attacked and touched by Antis.

They play for 20 minute halves with a 5 minute break and a change of ends.

Kabaddi is also known as “a game of struggle”, as it is a match between one against seven players.

History of Kabaddi

There are various theories from religious believers that this game originated from the Vedic period or the Sistan region of Iran.

According to Tukaram’s Abhang, God Krishna used to play Kabaddi. Some legends say that it originated in Tamil Nadu, some 4,000 years ago. Princes played to display their strength and win their brides.

It has been a part of Indian culture since the time of Mahabharata along with some other games. The Mahabharata describes the battle between Kauravas and Pandavas and how Abhimanyu entered Kauravas seven tiered defence but died as he didn't know the way out.

It is said that Kabaddi was invented in remembrance of Abhimanyu, the warrior. It is believed that this game was invented to develop defensive responses by individuals against group attacks and group reactions to a personal attack.

The interesting fact is that this is the only contact sport where defence is a group effort, and the offence is an individual effort.

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Even Gautama Buddha played Kabaddi.

It is mentioned in the Buddhist literature that Gautama Buddha used to play Kabaddi with his peers. You can see Buddha playing Kabaddi in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1993 movie Little Buddha.

Kabaddi is one of the most popular sports in India, Pakistan and the Asian sub-continent as a whole, although each country has its own version of the sport.

Modern Kabaddi

Kabaddi is known by various names like it is known as HU-TU-TU in western India, HA-DO-DO in Bangladesh and eastern India, Chedugudu in south India and Kaunbada in North India.

This game has kept evolving and is played in various forms under various names. In south India, it is also known as Veera Vilayatu (Game of the Warriors). It provides excitement and thrill and is therefore rightly called the game of masses.

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Over time, this game has become widely popular and is played in over 65 countries by millions of people. It is popular in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Argentina, China, Canada, U.K, Korea, Iran, Tobago, Trinidad, and many other countries.

Along with being one of the national sports of India, it is also a national sport of Bangladesh.

The framework and rules for modern Kabaddi were prepared in 1921 in Maharashtra which was a combination of Sanjeevani and Gemini. A committee was formed in 1923, and it was played all over India and few parts of south Asia from 1930.

In 1950, All India Kabaddi Federation was formed. [In 1972, Amateur Kabaddi Federation Of India (AKFI) was established to affiliate with the Indian Olympic Association in order to popularise Kabaddi in India and its neighbouring countries.

Kabaddi Competitions

The first Asian Kabaddi Championship was held in 1980. From 1984, this game was included in SAF (South Asian Federation) at Dacca, Bangladesh. India won the Gold medal in Kabaddi in 11th Asian games Beijing 1990.

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India created history by winning five consecutive Gold medals in the Asian games. India won in the competition held in Hiroshima in 1994, Bangkok in 1998, Busan in 2002, and Doha in 2006.

The very 1st world cup of Kabaddi was organised in 2004 in Mumbai(India), and 2nd world cup was held in Panvel (India) in 2007. Both times, India became champions of Kabaddi.

The 1st Asian women kabaddi championship was held in 2005 at Hyderabad and India again won the gold medal. Kabaddi men and women were included in the 1st Asian Beach Games that were hosted by Indonesia in 2008 at Bali. India won both the gold medals.

Formats of the game

Kabaddi is played in 3 styles - Circle kabaddi, Beach kabaddi, and National style Kabaddi. The circle Kabaddi was demonstrated in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The beach kabaddi was introduced in Bali Asian Indoor games in 2008 and National style kabaddi was introduced as a medal sport by Beijing ASIAD in 1990.

These three styles of Kabaddi are played in three different formats.

The three types of Kabaddi are

Surjeevani
Gaminee
Amar

1.Surjeevani Kabaddi

This form of Kabaddi is played under the Kabaddi Federation of India. It is governed by kabaddi federations rules and regulations. In this Kabaddi, one player takes the place against a player of the opposite team who is out. It follows the rule - One out, One in.

The Kabaddi federation of India fixes the rules, number of players, duration of the game, dimensions of the court, etc.

2. Gaminee Kabaddi

In this type of Kabaddi, no players get revived. There is no time limit for this Gaminee type and when all the players are out, the game ends.

3. Amar Kabaddi

In this type of Kabaddi, when a player is out, he won't leave the court. One point is awarded to the team that touched him. Hence, one point is given for each touch for the opposite side, i.e to Antis. Amar kabaddi is played on a time basis. I.e time is fixed.

In northern India, the game is played in a circle known as circle kabaddi or Amar kabaddi.

Despite having different styles and forms, Kabaddi involves a fantastic body and mind fitness and ability to concentrate and anticipate the opponent’s moves.

The game needs speed, strength, stamina with a healthy body along with agility, breath-holding capacity, muscular coordination, catching, kicking, quick responses, and significant presence of mind under dangerous situations and tremendous pressure.

There have been gradual changes in the trend of Kabaddi in the past 50 years. It was once considered a game of brawn but it is not now.

With the introduction of shoes, mats, new techniques, and changes in the rules of the game, it has become more exciting and advantageous for players of all abilities, and those who have made the crossover from other sports.

The Vivo Pro Kabaddi League

The Vivo Pro Kabaddi league is based in India and has 12 franchise teams competing from July until October for the title.

Currently, the most successful team in the Vivo Pro Kabaddi league is the Patna Pirates, who have won three championships. They were particularly dominant in Season 5 with a 54% success rate in their raids, which is very high indeed!