Kabaddi is a competitive and physically demanding team sport that has gained popularity around the world in recent years. Teams in a kabaddi match each consist of seven players. There can be three to five substitutes on the team bench. Based on the kabaddi rules, a match begins with one team raiding the other team’s half of the field. During the raid, any player of the attacking team, called a raider, enters the other team’s half of the field while chanting the word “kabaddi”, also known as canting. Now let’s take a closer look at such aspects as kabaddi games rules and regulations, positions in kabaddi, kabaddi leagues.
Origin history of kabaddi
Kabaddi is the oldest and most popular team game in Asia. The ancestor of the sport is India. Today it is hard to imagine how popular is kabaddi. In 1990, kabaddi among men’s teams was already included in the program of the Asian Games in Beijing. The regularity of the main competitions in this discipline is a regular feature of the Asian Games. Since 2019, women’s teams have been included in the tournaments.
Game rules
If you wonder how many teams are there in pro kabaddi league then you are lucky to get full information in this regard. This is a contact sport played by two teams. Two 7 player teams play two halves of 20 minutes on a large square field. Each team player sprints down the centerline of the field towards the opposing team’s half of the field, touches the opposing team and runs back up. The more of the opposing team they touch the more points they score, but if the opposing team can physically prevent them from reaching their half of the field, no points are scored.
Important tournaments of kabaddi
Major competitions in the sport:
- World Kabbadi Championships;
- Asian Games;
- Indian international premier kabaddi league;
- Professional kabaddi league;
- Super Kabaddi League;
- Asian Kabaddi Championship.
Popular kabaddi players
Undoubtedly in this sport there are already a number of names that are known to all fans of the sport. Top 10 kabaddi players in India and abroad:
- Pardeep Narwal;
- Manjeet Chhillar;
- Fazel Atrachali;
- Anup Kumar;
- Sandeep Narwal.
What is pro kabaddi league
PKL is an Indian men’s professional kabaddi league. It was initiated in the year 2014. This is the most popular kabaddi league across the globe. It also holds the second highest number of viewers in India after the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Pro Kabaddi league was initiated by Mashal Sports Pvt. Ltd. Ltd. and Star Sports Pvt. Ltd. The Pro Kabaddi League is conducted in a double round robin and playoff format.
Kabaddi popularity
Kabaddi is played in how many countries? The popularity of this particular sport has crossed borders: the sport is now played in many countries in Asia, Europe and other regions. Not to forget the fact that India is the seminal country where the sport originated, other countries like Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan and Kenya have also adopted the sport. A number of national teams from these countries have been formed and are participating in international competitions.