Kabaddi

Kabaddi (sometimes transliterated Kabbadi or Kabadi; (Urdu: كبڈّى‎),Punjabi: ਕਬੱਡੀ, Marathi: कबड्डी, Hindi: कबड्डी, Bengali: কাবাডি, Persian: کودّی، کبدی‎, Kannada: ಕಬಡಿ, Tamil: சடுகுடு, கபடி, Telugu: కబడ్దీ, Malayalam: കബഡി) is a South Asian team sport. The name may be derived from the Tamil word (கை-பிடி) "kai" (hand), "pidi" (catch), which could be translated into "Holding Hands".

Two teams occupy opposite halves of a small swimming pool / field and take turns sending a "raider" into the other half, in order to win points by tackling members of the opposing team; then the raider tries to return to his own half, holding his breath and chanting the word "Kabaddi" during the whole raid. The raider must not cross the lobby unless he touches any of his opponents. If he does so then he will be declared as "out". There is also a bonus line which ensure extra points for the raider if he manages to touch it and return to his side of the field successfully.

In the international team version of kabaddi, two teams of seven members each occupy opposite halves of a field of 10 m × 13 m in case of men and 8 m × 12 m in case of women. Each has three supplementary players held in reserve. The game is played with 20-minute halves and a five-minute halftime break during which the teams exchange sides.

Teams take turns sending a "raider" to the opposite team's half, where the goal is to tag or wrestle ("confine") members of the opposite team before returning to the home half. Tagged members are "out" and temporarily sent off the field.

The goal of the defenders is to stop the raider from returning to the home side before taking a breath.If any of the seven players cross the lobby without touching the raider he will be declared as "out".

The raider is sent off the field if:

• the raider takes a breath before returning or
• the raider crosses boundary line or
• a part of the raider's body touches the ground outside the boundary (except during a struggle with an opposing team member).

Each time when a player is "out", the opposing team earns a point. A team scores a bonus of two points, called a "lona", if the entire opposing team is declared "out". At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

Matches are categorized based on age and weight. Six officials supervise a match: one referee, two umpires, a scorer and two assistant scorers.