Courts, teams, opponents, players Extract: In Kabaddi, two teams of seven members each, face each other on a flat rectangular court, divided by a midline. The game is usually played in two halves with a halftime break in between. After the break, the teams exchange their sides on the court.

To play the game, each team sends ‘raiders’ across the midline to the other team. The raider tries to ‘tag’ the opponents and run back to his side, all in one breath. To show that he hasn’t inhaled again, he has to chant ‘Kabaddi-Kabaddi’ all the time. If he has to inhale again, he is ‘out’.

The opponents try to catch the raider and stop him from going back to his half till he loses his breath, and has to inhale again. If the raider manages to go back successfully, all the persons he has tagged and all those who have touched him are declared out. For each player declared out, the opposite team scores a point. If all the seven players in a team are ‘out’, the opposite team gets bonus points – a Iona. The team with the maximum points wins the match.

The game of Kabaddi requires good health, muscular strength, strategic skills, a lot of practice and above all, great determination.