Kabaddi is basically a combative sport, with seven players on each side; played for a period of 40 minutes with a 5 minutes break (20-5-20). The core idea of the game is to score points by raiding into the opponent’s court and touching as many defense players as possible without getting caught on a single breath. One player, chanting Kabaddi!!! Kabaddi!!!! Kabaddi!!!! Charges into the opponent court and try to touch the opponent closest to him, while the seven opponents make maneuvers to catch the attacker. This is Kabaddi, the match of one against seven, known as the game of struggle. The players on the defensive side are called “Antis” while the player of the offence is called the “Raider”. The attack in Kabaddi is known as a ‘Raid’. The antis touched by the raider during the attack are declared ‘out’ if they do not succeed in catching the raider before he returns to home court. These players can resume play only when their side scores points against the opposite side during their raiding turn or if the remaining players succeed in catching the opponent’s raider.

The origin of the game dates back to pre-historic times played in different forms. The modern Kabaddi game was played all over India and some parts of South Asia from 1930. The first known framework of the rules of Kabaddi as an indigenous sport of India was prepared in Maharashtra in the year 1921 for Kabaddi competitions on the pattern of Sanjeevani and Gemini in a combined form. Thereafter a committee was constituted in the year 1923, which amended the rules framed in 1921. The amended rules were applied during the All India Kabaddi Tournament organized in 1923.

The Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation [AAKF] was formed in the year 1978. The 1st Asian Kabaddi Championship was held in the year 1980 and was included as a demonstration game in the 9th Asian Games, New Delhi in the year 1982. The game was included in the South Asian Federation (SAF) games from the year 1984 at Dacca, Bangladesh. Kabaddi was included as a regular sports discipline in the 11th Beijing Asian Games

The Inter-national Kabaddi Federation [IKF] was formed during the 1st World Cup in Kabaddi 2004 at Mumbai in India. India won the First World Cup by beating Iran in the finals. The First Asian Women Championship was held at Hyderabad in 2005 and India won the Gold Medal. Women Kabaddi was included for the first time in the South Asian Games held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2006. The second World Cup was held in India at Panvel in 2007

For the first time in the history of Asian Games a separate indoor stadium was built for Kabaddi competition and training in the 15th Asian Games held at Doha [Qatar] 2006. The training/ warming up courts and main field of play was made up of puzzle mats of Korean make. The main field of play was equipped with a giant public screen, which displayed replays and the running score. Two Plasma scoreboards, info terminals for the presentation crew, the ceremony crew and the media were provided.

The 15th Asian Games Doha provided an excellent opportunity to showcase Kabaddi to the Europeans and Australians who were in great numbers in organizing the Asian Games. A good many spectators belonging to European countries, USA, Australia, Western Asia, and the Mediterranean countries, who saw the Game for the first time, were very impressed with the simple rules and the thrill of the sport and desired to introduce the sport in their countries. This has given Kabaddi very good and positive exposure for its future development in the continents of Europe, USA, Australia and Africa.

Kabaddi was included as a major discipline in the 2nd Asian Indoor games held at Macau from 25th October to 3rd November 2007 and in the Asian Beach Games being hosted by Indonesia in 2008, which are major landmarks in the history of the game. There has been a gradual but significant change in the trends of the game since the last 50 years. What was once considered a game of brawn is not so now. The introduction of mats, shoes, new techniques & changes in rules has made the sport more interesting and advantageous to skilled

players who are now able to defeat heavier players with better skills & techniques.