Kabaddi – A Game Of Perseverance And Strength

The sport which has been topping the charts, as much as cricket in India, in recent times is the Kabaddi. While the rise in fame for this sport has been quite recent, the sport in itself is very old in the subcontinent. Let us try and understand this game better and how the rules work out in this article.

Kabaddi – What You Need to Know

Two teams are competing with each other comprising of 7 players each and are quite a challenging game for your body. You need to have good stamina and physical strength to be part of a Kabaddi team.

Here are a few facts about the game itself.

• As for the Kabaddi field, it has two parts for the two teams.
• The players are referred to as raiders who play the offense and antis when they are playing the defense.
• Currently, the game is played at international and national levels.
• For an international match, the court used for playing the game measures 10mx13m for men and 8mx12m for women.
• When the raider crosses the boundary or loses their breath or any part of their body comes into contact with the lobby, he/she is counted as out.
• A Kabaddi match has six officials overseeing the game namely the scorer, a referee, two assistant scorers, and two umpires.

Journey of Kabaddi

There is a mention of the God Krishna playing Kabaddi in the Abhang by Tukaram. However, there are also reports which suggest that this game was played in Tamil Nadu nearly 4000 years back. It was a game played between princes to show off their strength in front of princesses whom they want to marry.

There are also stories that suggest that Kabaddi was played in the memory of the warrior Abhimanyu from Mahabharata. The sport was initially developed to help the warriors to learn to defend, especially group attacks. This is probably the only game where the defense happens in a group while the offense or the raid as it is called, happens by a single player.

Kabaddi was a popular childhood sport and people who were born before the 80s would have definitely played it in their neighborhood. The sport while entertaining you is also synonymous with keeping you fit and there is, of course, the thrilling content to it. Beijing Asian Games in the 1990s was the first time when Kabaddi made into Asian games.

Kabaddi In Modern Times

Kabaddi is known by different names in different places. In Eastern India and Bangladesh it is known as Ha-do-do, in North India as Kaunbada, in Western India as Hu-Tu-Tu and in Southern India as Chedugudu. The game has been evolving with time and is captioned under different names in different places. It is played as a Veera Vilayatu in the southern parts of India.

Kabaddi is not just a famous sport in India but is celebrated across 65 countries including Pakistan, Japan, Nepal, Malaysia, China, Argentina, Thailand, Canada, Iran, etc.

Playing Kabaddi

The word “Kabaddi” itself is a derivation from the Tamil Word “Kai Pidi” which literally translates to hold hands. Being the national game of Bangladesh, the game is played by the majority of the states in India like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The game is known as “Hu tutu” in most of these states.

While there are many variations to the rules of the game as such, the most common rules are as under:

• The game starts with the player from a team chanting “Kabaddi..Kabaddi..” and enters the other side of the field.
• This player is called the raider who tries to touch one or more opponents in the opposite team. After touching the player has to reach his side safely.
• The opposite team will try to catch the raider and stop him from reaching the other side.
• If the raider is successful in touching an opponent and getting back safely, the person who was touched is declared out. The raider can then have another player who has been out making their way into his side of the game again.
• If the player was caught before entering his side, then the raider is declared out.
• There is also a bonus point that a player can score by crossing a certain line on the opposite side.

Kabaddi Championships

• The Kabaddi world cup in which India has emerged as the winner of the two competitions by two different organizations.
• World Kabaddi league where teams travel to four different continents to play the game.
• There is also the Pro Kabaddi league in India which involves players across the world.

The different federations of Kabaddi across the world are:

1. EKF-England Kabaddi Federation UK
2. IAKF-Iran’s Amateur Kabaddi Federation
3. BAKF-Bangladesh Amateur Kabaddi Federation
4. PKF-Pakistan Kabaddi Federation
5. AKFI-Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India
6. KFI- Kabaddi Federation of India
7. AAKF-Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation
8. AKF-Asian Kabaddi Federation

More Interesting Facts About Kabaddi

• HarjeetBrarBajakhana from Punjab, in India, is considered to be the father of Kabaddi. He was a raider who played in a circular style.
• When a raider gets ten points or more in a match, including the bonus and touchpoints, the same is known as Super 10. Technical points are not considered for this calculation though.
• Despite the popularity, the game is not part of the Olympics. Lack of a professional association is one of the reasons for the same. Also for a game to be in Olympics, it has to be played in 4 continents and in more than 75 countries which Kabaddi does not fulfill.
• The match runs for 40 minutes for men and 30 minutes for women. The time is divided into two halves with each half having a break of 5 minutes for each team.
• While the senior matches do not have age criteria, the junior matches require the players to be below 20 years and the sub-junior category requires them to be below 16 years of age.