TRADITIONAL CHILDREN GAMES OF ANDHRA PRADESH

KABADDI

HISTORY
It is popular in the Indian subcontinent and other surrounding Asian countries. Although accounts of
kabaddi appear in the histories of ancient India, the game was popularised as a competitive sport in
the 20th century. It is the national sport of Bangladesh. It is the state game of the Indian
states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil
Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.

There are two major disciplines of kabaddi: "Punjabi kabaddi", also referred to as "circle style",
comprises traditional forms of the sport that are played on a circular field outdoors, while the
"standard style", played on a rectangular court indoors, is the discipline played in major professional
leagues and international competitions such as the Asian Games.

Highest governing body International Kabaddi Federation

Nicknames Kaudi, Pakaada, Ha-du-du, Bhavatik, Saadukuda, Hu-Tu-Tu, Himoshika

Variations
Standard style

In the international team version of kabaddi, two teams of seven members each occupy
opposite halves of a court of 10 by 13 metres (33 ft × 43 ft) in case of men and 8 by 12 metres
(26 ft × 39 ft) in case of women. Each has five supplementary players held in reserve for
substitution.The game is played with 20-minute halves with a 5-minute half break in which the
teams exchange sides. During each play, known as a "raid", a player from the attacking side,
known as the "raider", runs into the opposing team's side of the court and attempts to tag as
many of the seven defending players as possible. The raider must cross the baulk line into
the defending team's territory, and then return to their half of the field without being tackled.
(If an attacker touches a defender and hasn't yet reached the baulk line, they don't need to
reach the baulk line to score points and may return to their half of the court.) While raiding,
the raider must loudly chant kabaddi, confirming to referees that their raid is done on a single
breath without inhaling. Each raid has a 30-second time limit.

Circle style

There are four major forms of Indian kabaddi recognised by the amateur federation. In Sanjeevani
kabaddi, one player is revived against one player of the opposite team who is out. The game is
played over 40 minutes with a five-minute break between halves. There are seven players on each
side and the team that outs all the players on the opponent's side scores four extra points. In
Gaminee style, seven players play on each side and a player put out has to remain out until all his
team members are out. The team that is successful in outing all the players of the opponent's side
secures a point. The game continues until five or seven such points are secured and has no fixed
time duration. Amar style resembles the Sanjeevani form in the time frame rule, but a player who is
declared out stays inside the court while play continues. For every player of the opposition touched
"out", a team earns a point. Punjabi kabaddi is a variation that is played on a circular pitch of a
diameter of 22 metres (72 ft).

DIMENSION AND RULES OF KABADDI

 International Kabaddi, which is an indoor sport, is essentially played on synthetic
matresses.
 The size of the Kabaddi court is 13 X 10 meters for men and 11 x 8 meters for
boys and women.
 This court is divided into two parts by the “ Mid-Line” in which the two teams
defend themselves.
 The size of the “Side Lobby” is 1 meter wide on both the sides.
 The “Baulk Line” is 3.75 meters from the “Mid-Line”.
 The “Bonus Line” is 4.75 meters from the “Mid-Line”.
 The distance between the “Baulk Line” and the “Bonus Line” is 1 meter.
EQUIPMENTS
 Mattress: The Kabaddi Mattress is a synthetic matress which provides grip to
the players. The necessary lines are printed on the mattress. The matress can
be disassembled after use.
 Shoes: Kabaddi needs specialized shoes. These provide perfect grip on the
Kabaddi mattress and also provide ankle support to some extent.
 Support Equipments: Players wear joint supports such as knee support caps
and ankle support caps as per need while playing. For muscle support, they may
have kinesiology tape as a support.
SKILLS
 Raiding: A „raider‟ is a person who has the earn maximum points while the
opposite team is defending during a short period of 30 seconds. This requires
great amount of agility, presence of mind and stamina. The raider can either
touch an opponent or cross the bonus line for scoring points for his/her team.
Strength of core, calf and leg muscles are mainly tested while raiding.
 Defending: A „defender‟ defends along with his/her team. The aims of a
defender are to either not let the raider touch him/her or if at all he/she gets
touched, to not let the raider cross the “Mid-Line”. Although, eventually every
player in the team plays the role of a defender, there are specializations in
defending. A defender is named by the position in which he/she defends. For eg.
Left/right corner, left/right cover, left/right Ins are the types of defenders.
According to their positions, they different skills.
RULE BOOK
 Duration: The duration of the match is 40 minutes which is divided equally in two
halves of 20 minutes each along with 5-15 minutes interval between the halves.
During these halves, the raiders of the two teams raid alternately with one raid
carrying maximum 30 seconds while the opposition team defends in its own half
of the court. While doing this the raider has to „Cant‟ the words “Kabaddi-
kabaddi”. Otherwise he/she is considered as out.
 Substitution: A team consists of 7 players and total five substitutions are
allowed in the match of Kabaddi. This number of allowed substitutes is high in
comparison with other games as there is a high chance of injury in the sport. A
substitution can only be carried out during the time between any two raids. The
bench can contain 5 players who are available for substitution.
 Line Rules:
1. A raider has to either cross the “Baulk Line” or to touch a player in the opposition
to return safely into his own half after a raid.
2. The “Side-Lobbies” get activated when a raider touches a defender. Unless that
happens, the player who goes into the lobbies is considered out with immediate
effect.
3. In order to score a point without touching the defencer, a raider may cross the
“Bonus Line”. Both, the Baulk Line and the Bonus Line have to be crossed with
one leg of the raider on ground and the other leg in the air.
 4. The touches made by a raider are only legitimate if he/she crosses the “Mid-Line”
within the given time limit. If the raider is held back by the defenders, the
defending team gets a point.
 Discipline
A foul is committed when a defender tries to hold back the raider by holding his/her
clothes. Also, any other harsh physical activity besides holding back by the defender or
pulling to the Mid-Line by the raider can be given as foul by the refree. A refree also has
the power to book the players with green, yellow and red cards. The meanings of these
cards are:

1. Green Card means a warning for any violation of rules.

2. Yellow Card means 2 minute suspension from the game along and 1 technical
point to the opposition.
3. Red means 1 technical point to the opposition and suspension for the rest of the
match. In this case, the team that loses the player continues the match with the
remaining players. No substitution for the red carded player is allowed.

Circle Style

In the circle style format, the field is a circle with a radius of 22 meters which is divided
into two equal halves by a mid-line.

In this format, there are no lobbies or bonus lines.

The circle style introduces a ‘Pala’ which is a gate in the centre of the playfield. Its total
length is 6 meters. This pivotal line is usually three meters on each side and the raider
must ensure that he reaches back into his own half through this pala.

The pala posts should be mounds of either lime powder or of some soft material of 15
cm in diameter and 20 cm in height.

The baulk line or the essential limit is a line drawn from the pala post with a radius of 6
metres on each side of the midline forming a D on each side as shown in the diagram.

The circle style doesn’t impose any restrictions on weight. The rule says that eight
players will be a part of the game with five substitutions allowed per team.

However, the duration of the match is 40 minutes in both these styles, with two halves
of 20 minutes each.
SCORING

Standard Style

The standard style allows for a bonus point when the raider crosses over the bonus
line with six or more defenders on the court.

The raider has the liberty to touch one or more defenders and subsequently the points
are awarded in reference to the number of defenders he has touched on his way back.

Also, this style allows for an all-out, when all the seven players of the opposition are
ruled out and the raiding team gets two extra points for it.

Circle Style

The out and revival rule are not applicable in circle style and the defenders are known
as ‘anti-raiders’ or ‘anti’.

The raider is allowed to touch only one anti during his raid and if he touches more than
one, the defensive team is awarded a point. In the same way, one anti can only tackle
one raider and if he tackles more than one, a point is awarded to the raiding team.

If the raider returns safely without scoring back to his court, the opponent team will be
awarded a point. Another rule that is prevalent is that if a raid is of more than 30
seconds, the opponent team will be awarded a point.

The concept of ‘self-out’ is also seen in Circle style. If any player is pushed out of the
boundary line during the course of play, a point is also awarded against him.