Tonight on ESPN 8: Pro Kabaddi

[Recursion]

After playing a few pick-up games of kabaddi on the maidan I got a chance to go see the pro league in action last night in the Worli arena across the bay from the Hajji Ali mosque.

Kabaddi can be difficult to describe, but the closest thing would be to imagine a combination of Red Rover, tag, and rugby (we had a very similar sport with a very politically incorrect name in grade school).

The court looks like this:



Two teams of ten play. Each team alternates sending one rover across the midline against seven (or fewer, see below) defenders who stand between him and the end lines.



The raider here is in white and red; the defenders in blue.

The raider's goal is to "tag" one or more of the defenders (he may use his hand or foot to do so) and return back across the midline to his side. If he does so, he will score a point (two, if he had a foot past the bonus line), and the tagged defender is out, meaning the next raider will only face six defenders. If eventually all seven positions are put out, they all come back on again but they are charged a large point penalty. The raider may also score a point and an out if he knocks any defender past the endlines, sidelines, or midline (this is why the defenders hold hands). In old-school kabaddi the raider had to do this in one breath and keep saying "Kabaddi kabaddi kabaddi kabaddi" to prove he wasn't breathing (that's how our pick-up games work), but in pro kabaddi they just have a 30 second timer per raider.

The defenders' job is to prevent this from happening, either by keeping him from tagging them in the first place, or by tackling him after he does. As you can see above, they sort of arc around him, but there's a trade off there. You want to be in a good position to tackle him if he makes a move, but if you get too far behind him you're vulnerable to the raider simply breaking back to the midline and knocking the farthest back defender over it, for a point.

There's a bit of bluffing and gamesmanship involved, too. The referees do not indicate whether there has been a valid tag until after the raider crosses back over the midline. So, if the raider makes a swipe at a defender and backs towards the line, there's a strategic question: should they attempt to tackle him (and risk one of them crossing over the midline), or let him go. If there was not a valid tag and you let him go, there's no point either way. So raiders who made a questionable tag will stand right against the midline essentially daring the defense to come pull him back, then cross over and await the referee's decision.

The game is definitely full-contact, viz:









(Women's kabaddi is very popular too.)

Anyways, I think this sport would do well in the US.

[Kali]

1. heh, I remember that game

we lived in a neighborhood that was all natural desert. one family had a tiny patch of grass about the size of a living room. we played that there for years.

what a horrible name, but it was fun

love your stories! love learning about the world.