Kabaddi is a team sport that involves physical contact. The goal of the game, which is played between two teams of seven players, is for a single offensive player, known as a "raider," to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their players as possible, and return to their own half of the court in 30 seconds without being tackled by the defenders. Each person tagged by the raider wins a point, while the opposite team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are removed from the game if they are touched or tackled, but they are reinstated after each point scored by their team as a result of a tag or tackle. There are two major kabaddi disciplines: "Punjabi kabaddi," also known as "circle styles," consists of traditional forms of the sport played on a circular field outdoors, whereas "standard style," played on a rectangular court indoors, is the discipline played in major professional leagues and international competitions such as the Asian Games.
International competitions
Kabaddi World Cup:
The International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) organizes an outdoor international standard-style kabaddi competition for men's and women's national teams. The competition has previously been held in 2004, 2007, and 2016. India has won all of the events. India won the 2016 World Cup by defeating Iran in the finals game 38-29. Following the formation of a new kabaddi organization known as the World Kabaddi Federation, the 2019 Kabaddi World Cup was held in Malacca, Malaysia, in April 2019. It was the largest world cup in kabaddi history, with 32 men's teams and 24 women's teams competing.
Asian Games:
Kabaddi debuted as a demonstration sport at the First Asian Games in 1951, then again in 1982, before becoming a medal sport for the first time in 1990. From 2002 until 2014, the Indian national team won every men's and women's kabaddi tournament at the Asian Games. Iran became the first country other than India to win gold medals in kabaddi at the 2018 Asian Games, with India's men's team taking bronze and India's women's team losing to Iran for silver.
Pro Kabaddi League:
In 2014, the Pro Kabaddi League was founded. The league's economic strategy was designed after the Indian Premier League of Twenty20 cricket, with a strong emphasis on marketing, support from local broadcaster Star Sports, and adjustments to the sport's regulations and presentation to make it fitter for a television audience. The Pro Kabaddi League soon became ratings hit on Indian television, with at least 435 million viewers tuning in throughout the course of the season, with the initial championship match drawing 98.6 million viewers.
European Kabaddi championship
In 2019, Scotland hosted the inaugural European Kabaddi Championship. Poland won the event by defeating Holland in the final match. Poland defeated Holland 47-27. The World Kabaddi Federation arranged the second edition, which was held in Cyprus in 2021. Poland defended their championship in the final, defeating hosts Cyprus 29-15. Italy will host the third edition in 2022.
