Kabaddi (ka-bad-ddee) is a team sport with seven to ten players in each team on court and a few in reserve. The court is divided into two sides, each team dominating a side until the break when they swap sides for the second half of the match.
If Team A wins the toss, they send out a ‘raider’ whose objective is to touch as many of Team B’s players as possible in their own side, and return to his side within 30 seconds, all while chanting the word ‘kabaddi’ over and over again. Team B’s Defenders try to contain him on their side of the court. If the Team A player is not able to return to the Team A court, he is declared out and the Defending side gets a point. If the Team A player manages to return, he gets a point and the Team B player he touched has to exit the game. The side with the highest points wins the match.
Kabaddi is presumed to have originated in India. It is also known as Chadugudu and Hu-tu-tu and its variations are played across South Asia. It is the National Game of Bangladesh.
An edited version of this article was published in the August 2012 issue of At A Glance.
