How is Kabaddi scored?
Players can earn points by defending or attacking in Kabaddi.
One point is scored when putting an opponent out, which can be done in two ways:
- Attacking player tags a defending player.
- Attacking player is prevented from returning to their half by defending team.
Bonus points are also available in Kabaddi, these can be achieved by:
- Attacking player touches the bonus line in the opposition half - one point
- All of opposition team are declared out - three points
- Part of opposing teams body goes outside the boundaries - one point
What are the rules for the tournament?
The sport is played on a 13m x 10m court with either team of seven players occupying half that as their own territory. The object of the game is simple enough.
In attack, a single player from one team must ‘raid’ the enemy half and ‘tag’ opponents — with a point awarded for each defender tagged should the raider return to their own half successfully.
The time limit for each raid is however long the raider can hold their breath which is where the “Kabaddi, Kabaddi” chant comes in.
The attacker must continually chant until either they reach back to their own half or are tackled — ending the raid.
Defenders, meanwhile, must stop the raider by either tackling them to the ground, pushing them out of bounds, or keeping them within their half until the attacking player runs out of breath — gaining the defending team a point.
Any defender successfully tagged and any raider successfully stopped are taken out of the game, however, they can be ‘revived’ by each point gained in subsequent defensive or offensive plays.
England confident of Kabaddi World Cup glory
No country comes close to India for Kabaddi World Cup pedigree.
It’s no surprise, then, that they will start as red-hot favourites as they prepare to defend their men’s and women’s titles in the West Midlands.
Both of their teams triumphed last time out in 2019 when the tournament was staged in Malaysia — the men trouncing Iraq 57-27 and women thrashing Taiwan 47-29.
And the women’s team also recently triumphed 32-25 in the Asian Kabaddi Championship finals against Iran.
The sport originated in India 5,000 years ago. And it is so big there that the men’s Pro Kabaddi League trails only IPL cricket when it comes to viewership figures.
Following late withdrawals of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Cameroon due to last-minute visa issues, hosts England are now confident they can go deep into the competition.
