Kabaddi

                                                 Gameplay

 

In the international team version of kabaddi, two teams of seven members each occupy opposite halves of a field of 10m × 13m in case of men and 8m X 11m in case of women. Each has three supplementary players held in reserve. The game is played with 20 minute halves and a five minute halftime break during which the teams exchange sides.

Teams take turns sending a "raider" to the opposite team's half, where the goal is to tag or wrestle ("confine") members of the opposite team before returning to the home half. Tagged members are "out" and temporarily sent off the field.

Meanwhile, defenders must form a chain, for example, by linking hands; if the chain is broken, a member of the defending team is sent off. The goal of the defenders is to stop the raider from returning to the home side before taking a breath.

The raider is sent off the field if:

• the raider takes a breath before returning or
• the raider crosses boundary line or
• A part of the raider's body touches the ground outside the boundary (except during a struggle with an opposing team member).

Each time a player is out the opposing team earns a point. A team scores a bonus of two points, called a lona, if the entire opposing team is declared out. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

Forms of Kabaddi

Amar

In the 'Amar' form of Kabaddi, whenever any player is touched (out), he does not go out of the court, but stays inside, and one point is awarded to the team that touched him. This game is also played on a time basis, i.e. the time is fixed. This form of kabaddi is played in Punjab, Canada, England, New Zealand, USA, Pakistan and Australia. In the Amar form of Kabaddi, each team consists of 5–6 stoppers and 4–5 raiders. At one time, only 4 stoppers are allowed to play on the field. Every time a stopper stops the raider from going back to his starting point, that stoppers team gets 1 point. On the other hand, every time the raider tags one of the stoppers and returns to his starting point, his team gets one point. At one time, only one of the stoppers can try.

Sanjeevni

In Sanjeevni Kabaddi, one player is revived against one player of the opposite team who is out, one out, one in. The duration, the number of players, dimensions of the court, etc. have been fixed by the Kabaddi Federation of India. This form of Kabaddi is the closest to the present game. In this form of Kabaddi, players are put out and revived and the game lasts 40 minutes with a 5-minute break in between. There are nine players on each side. The team that puts out all the players on the opponent's side scores four extra points for a 'Iona'. The winning team is the one that scores most points after 40 minutes. The field is bigger in this form of Kabaddi and the 'cant' different in various regions. Modern Kabaddi resembles this form of Kabaddi especially with regard to 'out & revival system' and 'Iona'. The present form of Kabaddi is a synthesis of all these forms with changes in the rules.

Gaminee

This is played with nine players on either side, in a field of no specific measurements. The characteristic is that a player put out has to remain out until all his team members are out. The team that is successful in putting out all the players of the opponent's side secures a point. This is akin to the present system of 'Iona'. After all the players are put out, the team is revived and the game continues. The game continues until five or seven 'Iona' are secured. This form of Kabaddi has no fixed game time. The main disadvantage of Gaminee is that the player is not in position to give his best performance since he is likely to remain out for the better part of the match until an Iona is scored.