Kabaddi sport originated from India, has made its mark globally today. It is national game of Bangladesh and now played worldwide in more than 50 countries. This sport is a unique blend of physical strength, agility, strategy and courage. Let’s find out how this exciting game is played.
If you will search you will find out a number of variations in Kabaddi game based on different zones and regions. But there is standard style which is worldwide accepted and all professional leagues or international matches of Kabaddi or international leagues like world cup, asian games follow this playing style.
Prerequisites Before Playing Kabaddi Match
Preparation of the Ground
The Kabaddi ground is in rectangular shape, measuring 13 meters in length and 10 meters in width. This long 13 meter ground is divided into two equal halves with a line which is called a middle line. This way each team has one end, which is considered their ‘home’ where they are safe.
Now the 2 haves of the Kabaddi court further has 2 lines – 1 Baulk line to initiate raid, and 2nd Bonus line which is for extra points. But the Bonus line is valid if there are 6-7 members in defending team.
Formation of Teams
Each team has 12 players, but in actual only 7 main players from each team play the match and 5 additional players sit on the bench and considered as the substitutes (they can be replaced in breaks). Before the game starts, both teams stand at their respective ends.
Objective of the game
The main objective in Kabaddi is to score points by touching or catching the players of the opposing team. For this, a player (called a raider) enters the area of the opposing team.
How to Play Kabaddi
Step 1: This game begins when the raider enters the area of the opposing team. The raider continuously chant “Kabaddi-Kabaddi”. This rule is so that the raider raids in a single breath. If he stops to take a breath, he is considered out.
Step 2: The main job of the raider is to touch or catch any player of the opposing team. After this, he has to return to his team’s area. If he does this, his team gets points and the touched player is considered out.
For this raider has first to cross the Baulk line. Once raider crosses the baulk line, the raid is initiated and now if raider touches any member of defending team and returns back to home, then the particular defending member who raider touched will get eliminated and the raider team will get 1 point.
Keep remember if a raider touches any defending member after Bonus line or simply crosses Bonus line and don’t touch anyone and returns safe home, then still an extra point or bonus point will be given. Bonus line score only valid if there are 6 to 7 members in the opponent’s team.
Note: You can take the benefit of bonus line in Kabaddi during the starting of game when no one is out yet.
Step 3: From defending side, the players of the opposing team try to catch the raider. If they catch the raider till he returns to his territory, the raider is out and the defending team gets the point. As this is standard style Kabaddi, multiple players from defending team together can catch raider which is not allowed in circle style Kabaddi.
Step 4: When there are only 3 or less players left in the defending team and they successfully catch the raider, it is called a Super Tackle. In this situation, the defending team gets 2 points.
Step 5: If all the players of a team are out, then the opposing team gets 2 extra points. After this, all the players of the out team come back to the field.
So these are the steps to play Kabaddi match. It is played in two halves, each of which is 20 minutes long. There is a 5-minute rest between the two halves.
Apart from that each team is allowed to take one time out in every half, which is 30 seconds. This time is useful for making strategies and giving rest to the players. This time a team can also replace players with others, means team can call substitute players and give rest to others.
Last, the team that has the most points at the end of the match is declared the winner. If both the teams have equal points, then 2 more rounds of additional 5 minutes are allotted but if there is a tie again, then the team scoring more points first is declared the winner.
Conclusion
Kabaddi is a sport that not only tests physical prowess but also promotes mental agility and team spirit. It is a precious heritage of Indian culture, which is now making its mark globally. Whether you are an amateur player or aspiring to become a professional, Kabaddi will provide you with thrill, entertainment and health benefits.
So come on, get on the field and enjoy this great sport. Keep exploring https://greengroundsports.com/ and don’t forget to share the playing tips with others on social media