The Origin of Kabaddi

The sport has a long History dating back to pre-
historic times. It was probably invented to ward off
group attacks by individuals and vice versa. The
game was very popular in the southern part of Asia
played in its different forms and different names.

A dramatised version of the great Indian epic, the
Mahabharata, has made an analogy of the game to
a tight situation faced by Abhimanyu, the heir of the
Panadava kings when he is surrounded on all sides
by the enemy. Buddhist literature speaks of the
Gautam Buddha playing Kabaddi for recreation.
History also reveals that princes of yore played
Kabaddi to display their strength and win their brides.

Forms of Kabaddi

Amar
Amar literally means invincible. This is a form of
Kabaddi, which is played based on points scored by
both sides. The play field has no specific measurements
and 9 to 11 players constitute each of the teams. In
this form of Kabaddi, there is no out and revival system
or Lona but time is the deciding factor. The main
advantage of this form of the game is that the players
remain in the court throughout the match and are able
to give their best performance.

Gemini
This form of Kabaddi is played with nine players on
each side, in a play field of no specific measurements.
The principle characteristic of this form of Kabaddi is
that a player who is pit out has to remain out until all
his team members are put out. The team that is
successful in putting out all the players of its opponent’s
side secure a point. This is similar to the present system
of Lona. After all the players are put out, the team is
revived and the game continues. The game continues
until five or seven Lona are secured. The game has no
fixed time. The main disadvantage of this form of
Kabaddi is that the player is not in position to give the
best performance since he is likely to remain out for the
better part of the match until a Lona is scored.

Sanjeevani
This form of Kabaddi is the closest to the present
game. In this form of Kabaddi, players are put out and
revived and the game last for 40 minutes with a 5
minute break in between. The team consists of nine
players on each side. The team that pouts out all the
players on the opponent’s side scores for extra points
for a Lona.
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The wining team is the one that scores the maximum
number of points at the end of the 40 minutes. The
play field is bigger in this form of Kabaddi and the ‘cant’
was different in various regions. Modern Kabaddi
resembles this form of Kabaddi a great deal especially
with regard to out and revival system and Lona, The
present form of Kabaddi is a synthesis of all those forms
of Kabaddi with a good number of changes in the rules
and regulations.

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