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How to play Kabaddi

Let’s play Kabaddi

Kabaddi Basics

  • Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players.
  • The game is commonly played on any flat surface including field and clay courts. Internationally the game is now played on EVA foam mats.
  • Matches are fast paced, condensed into 40-minute fixtures and employ a range of wrestling disciplines.
  • Kabaddi is a sport so basic that it needs no equipment or special skills to start playing. It takes just 30 minutes for anyone to learn how to play the game although mastering it takes years.

 

The Phases of Kabaddi


To Raid:

The objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of a court, touch out as many of their defenders as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders, and in a single breath.

 

To Defend:

Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider.

 

To Tackle:

Players are taken out of the game if they are touched or tackled but are brought back in for each point scored by their team from a tags or tackle.

 

Kabaddi – Playing Environment

Kabaddi is a game of excess physical work requiring stamina and good tactics. You should know the way to get into other team’s area and come back successfully without getting obstructed by your opponents. But before heading towards the game let’s look at the basics of the game that you will need to know to play this game.


Have a look at this video which gives an excellent explanation of the rules of Kabaddi. 


The Court

The court measures 12.5-metres length and 10 metres wide. A midline is drawn in the court, splitting into two halves. The depth of the court is 1 foot in which sand is filled by removing mud or is made up of 40 to 50 millimetre foam mats.


 

Dress Code

Kabaddi is a contact sport where grappling takes place, therefore excessive loose-fitting clothing is disadvantageous and not allowed. Only shorts and a vest/ T shirt are allowed and the game can be played barefoot or with soft sports shoes worn by boxers, wrestlers, or Kabaddi shoes. In BKL tournaments players wear coloured sports kits  to represent their team and also include sponsors’ logos.


Teams

Total numbers of player in each team is 12. Only 7 players are allowed into the playing court. The remaining 5 will be kept as reserves/substitutes. During the game only the leader is allowed to give instructions to the other players in his team.


Play Duration

The playing duration is different for different genres. For BKL matches the game is broken into 4 x 10-minute quarters with a 5 minute break in the middle and 2 min breaks at the midway point of each half. Often women’s and children’s matches are reduced to 15 minute halves, but not always.


Officials

There are different types of officials present in the game. Six officials are nominated to conduct a Kabaddi Match. Among them, two are umpires, one is a scorer, one is an assistant scorer, and one is a referee. In BKL there is always a nominated Technical Official Director. All Officials are accredited by World Kabaddi.


  • Referee − Has the power to warn, declare point against or disqualify a participant from a match. Also has the authority to overturn the decision given by umpire.
  • Umpire − Generally the decision of the umpire is final.
  • Scorer − Fills the scores data, timings, time-outs.
  • Assistant Scorers − Records those players who are out and those who are survived.


How to Play Kabaddi?

Marking of Lines

In the 12.5×10 meter pitch the outer lines, known as Boundary lines, are marked with coloured sands or tape. Playing areas are marked with one meter space from each side of the 10 meters boundary line. 


 

To separate the territory of each team, a middle line is drawn in such a fashion that it divides the whole court in to two equal 6.5×8 metre sections. The position of baulk lines can clearly be seen from the above picture. They are positioned at a distance of 3.75 meters on the either side of the middle line. On the either side of the middle line, bonus lines are drawn which are present at 1 metre from it.


Toss and Decide

Tossing of a coin is done to determine which team will raid first. Sometimes tossing is done with an unbiased dice.


Raiding

After winning the toss, the team takes turns and sends players, known as raiders into opponent team’s half. The sole aim of the raider is to tag the members of the opposite team and run back into his team side. Each player he touches on the opponent’s side gives his team one point.


  • The team with the maximum score at the end is declared as the winner.
  • If a match ends in a tie, then two 5 minutes periods of extra time are given.
  • If the tie still exists after (20+20+5+5) 50 minutes of play, then the team that scored first will be declared the winner.

The raider needs to repeatedly chant the word “Kabaddi” as soon as they cross the midline and must keep it chanting until their safe return to their own half. It is worth noting that, under no circumstances should the raider stop chanting the word “Kabaddi”. If they do, they must return to their own half immediately. This will yield no point to their team but will earn a point to the opposing team for successfully defending against the raider.


Raiding should be done in proper order by the team. That means in a sequence, each team needs to send all its players to the opposite side. The defending team can earn a point by not letting the raider return to the raiders own half.


Defence

In case your team loses the toss, it will be raided by the other team. Then it is the responsibility of your team to stand in front and defend. You must avoid being tagged by the raider. Doing such will fetch a point to the raider’s team. To avoid yourself from being tagged, you should run as far as possible from the raider, till he becomes breathless of saying “Kabaddi” or is in a position to be tackled.


If you are tagged by the raider, wait till the raider becomes breathless or is in a vulnerable position to be grabbed. When attacking the raider, the defenders must execute it before the raider touches the middle line. You cannot pull the cloths or hairs of the raider, but you can grab only their limbs or torso.


Alternating between the raiding and defending goes on between the two teams for 20 minutes. After the end of first session players take 5-minute break. After that switching between the two teams take place to either side of the court. The team which gathers maximum point at the end of two sessions wins the match.


Kabaddi - Game Tactics

Knowledge about the game is not enough. Physical force is just 50% of a game. Another 50% is the tactics required to use your physical force efficiently. So, let’s discuss about some necessary game tactics that you need.


Raid Mechanisms

The attacking style is known as raid mechanism. One difficult thing in kabaddi is that the raider will be one, while the defender will be many. So the raider must have skilled tactics to tag the opponents and come back safely towards the middle line.


The whole game of kabaddi can be changed in couple of minutes with the help of a few good raiders. Therefore, it is vital to understand the raiding mechanism very carefully. 


The raiding depends upon several factors. Some of the important ones are:


  • Entry
  • Chant
  • Footwork
  • Settling path of attack
  • Tactics
  • Retreat


A strong entry can give a raider a safe exit. The defenders always pre-plan about every move that a raider is going to make. The most important part for a raider is to judge it in advance and make a strong entry. After the entry the raider must act quickly enough to finish it and return to their own half before becoming breathless and stop chanting.


After entering, the first step for the raider is to judge its defenders very well. The raider should also see the defenders outside the ring. That is because an ineffective raid may bring a strong defender into the ring and may make their defense stronger next time. The raider should also have the idea about the various strong defense moves of the players present in that ring. Knowledge of this will help him prevent them from being caught.


From time to time, the defenders change their system of play. The raider must be able to judge that and act accordingly. Their strategy will vary in accordance with the number of players they are having. For example, with 4 players they may have a defensive formation of 2-2, 1-2-1 or 1-1-2. It is the raider who should be able to recognise the formation and judge the best way to correctly to make a safe exit towards the midline.


Situations matter in the game of kabaddi to make your move as a raider. If your team needs to score a point, to up bring your team into a safe zone otherwise, then you must tag any one of antis; otherwise coming back into your half without crossing the baulk line is a wise decision.


Presently bonus line game is in vogue. The bonus depends upon the number of antis that you have on the other side of your zone. If the number of antis is 6 or more, then just by crossing the bonus line you can earn a point for your team. Otherwise, you must go deeper inside the zone to score.


Chant

The most unique feature of kabaddi is its chant. Beginners often find themselves in difficult position in doing this. The rule says you must chant the word “kabaddi” as soon as you enter the defending zone and should continue till you come back to your side by crossing the middle line. If the player fails in this at any moment during the raid, they will be out of the match. So indirectly the duration of chant can be used as a measurement tool of kabaddi. In BKL matches however, raids are limited to 30 Seconds with 5 seconds between raiders crossing the midline.


Entry

A raider can use right, left, or central zone for their entry into the court. However, the entry depends upon the following factors very strongly: 


  • The position of the raider at the time of their role in their team’s defense system.
  • The direction of attacking side.
  • The raiders direction of travel.


A player fighting for the right corner should start with an anti-present in the right side and similarly for left and corner side. The chant must start before entering to the defending zone. This is because if the raider makes any delay in the chant process after entering the defending zone, then under the late chant penalty he may be barred from the match.


Footwork

The movement of the foot of the raider during their raid is most important. The footwork however depends upon the following factors: 


  • Position of the body
  • Stance of the raider
  • Speed with which they move
  • Agility
  • Style of movement


The raider should bring speed in their movement during the raid. They should keep in mind that the raid should be finished as soon as possible, as the loss of breath will lose the chant process and their team may get penalized. 


Footwork can be divided into four categories:


  • Leading leg raid
  • Natural method
  • Reverse step raid
  • Shuffling raid


Skills

A Kabaddi Player needs skills to have mastery upon their techniques. There are broadly two categories of skills that a kabaddi player needs to learn: offensive skills and defensive skills. For example, during a raid, a raider must try to touch the antis with the maximum use of their own limbs. It will make easy for them and for their team to score points. 


Some touches that are legal in Kabaddi are:


  • Foot touch
  • Toe touch
  • Thrust
  • Squat leg
  • Kicks
  • Touching of hand through upper limbs


Retreat

After starting the raid, until and unless the raider returns to their own zone safely, the raid is not accepted as successful. This is known as retreat. Before going to the opponent’s zone, the raider must pre-plan the retreat.


No room for pursuit should be given by the raider to the antis. As soon as the raider comes back from the raid, they should position themselves in their team’s defensive system. For example, if a player is supposed to defend his team at right corner, but returns from the raid by left corner, then the antis may attack quickly, and the team’s defensive system may be jeopardized.