Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the object 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, tag 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. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are tagged or tackled, but can be "revived" for each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle.
It is popular in the Indian subcontinent and other surrounding and South Asian countries, such as Iran and Pakistan. Although ancient accounts of kabaddi appear in the histories of both modern-day India and Iran, the game was popularized as a competitive sport in the 20th century by India; it is the state game of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh. It is also the national sport of Bangladesh.[1]
Two major disciplines of kabaddi exist; Punjabi kabaddi, also known as "circle style", refers to traditional styles of the sport that are played on a circular field outdoors. The "standard style", played on a rectangular court indoors, is a discipline played in major professional leagues, and competitions such as the Asian Games.
The game is known by its regional names in different parts of the Indian subcontinent, such as kabaddi or chedugudu in Andhra Pradesh, kabaddi in Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana, hadudu in Bangladesh, bhavatik in Maldives, kauddi or kabaddi in the Punjab region, hu-tu-tu in Western India, hu-do-do in Eastern India, chadakudu in South India, kapardi in Nepal and kabaddi or saduguda in Tamil nadu. The word "kabaddi" is derived from the Tamil word "kai-pidi” (கைபிடி, "to hold hands").[2]
