Kabaddi

National Club Games

Rule Book
Kabaddi
The game of National Club Games Kabaddi shall be governed and played under
the following rules of Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India.
1. Ground: Ground shall be clay surface approved by the lKF/AAKF/AKF.
2. Play Field Measurements:
a. Men & Junior Boys: 11 x 9 Metres divided into two equal halves by a
mid line (as shown in the diagram).
b. Women & Junior Girls: 10 x 8 Metres

A M B

D N C
3. Boundary: The lines on the four sides of the play field are known as the
boundaries (AB, BC, CD, and DA). All lines shall be 3 to 5 cms. width and form
the part of the play field.
Width of all the lines shall be minimum 3 cms to maximum 5 Cms.
It is necessary to have 3 Metres clear space outside the boundaries
There shall be no Baulk line and Bonus line in National Club Games
Kabaddi.
4. Play Field: The play field means that portion of the ground which measures
11 metres by 7 metres (ABCD) for Men & Junior Boys and 10 meters by 6 me-
tres for Women, Junior Girls before struggle.
5. Lobbies: The strips on both the sides of the playfield measuring one metre in

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width are known as the Lobbies. When the lobbies, as per rule 4 under Rules of
Play are included in the playfield, the boundaries of the playfield are extended
up to the four lines which enclose the playfield including the lobbies.
6. Mid Line: The line that divides the play field into two halves is known as the
mid-line (MN).
7. Court: Each half of the play field divided by the mid line is known as the Court.
8. Cant: The repeated, without break at a stretch and clear aloud sounding of
the approved word KABADDI within the course of one respiration shall be
called Cant. The duration of the cant is maximum 30 seconds.
9. Raid: When the raider enters the court of opponent with cant, it is known as
Raid.
10. Raider: One who enters into the court of the opponent with the cant is known
as a Raider. The raider must begin his cant before he touches the opponents
court.
11. Anti or Anti Raider: Every player in whose court the raid is being made
shall be called Anti or Anti Raider.
12. Loosing the Cant: To stop the repeated and clear aloud sounding of the
word KABADDI or take in a breath during cant by the raider is known as
loosing the cant. A cant must be continued within one and the same respiration
for maximum period of 30 seconds only. If a raider takes more than 30 seconds
to reach his home court a technical point shall be awarded to the opponents
team.
13. To put out an Anti: If a raider touches an anti without the breach of rules
of play or if any part of the body of an anti touches any part of the body of the
raider and then the raider touches his court, through the Pala with cant and
within 30 seconds, the anti is said to be put out.
14. To Hold a Raider: If an anti holds the raider without breach of rules of play
and keeps the raider in his court for more than 30 seconds and does not allow
him to reach his court until he looses his cant or the referee/umpire blows the
whistle, is known as holding the raider.
15. To reach court safely: If the raider touches his court with any part of his
body through the Pala with cant, without breach of rules, within 30 seconds, he
is said to have reached his court safely and turn of raid is over.
16. Touch: If the raider touches the anti or antis by any part of his body or even
the clothing, shoes or any other outfit, it is called a touch.
17. Struggle: When the anti or antis come into contact with the raider, it is called
Struggle. After touch or struggle the play field includes the lobbies.

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18. Pursuit: When an anti rushes into the opponent court with cant and without
breach of rules, chasing the returning raider with a view to touch, it is called
Pursuit.

RULES OF PLAY
1. The team that wins the toss shall have the choice of the court or the raid. In the
second half, the court shall be changed and the team which had not opted for
raid shall send their raider first.
2. A player shall be out if any part of his body touches the ground outside the
boundary but during the struggle a player shall not be out if any part of his body
touches the ground outside the boundary by keeping contact of the play field.
The portion of contact must be inside the boundary.
3. If an anti who has gone out of bounds holds a raider, the raider shall be declared
safe and a point shall be declared against the anti.
4. When the struggle begins, the play field includes the lobbies. During the struggle
and after the struggle in the same raid, the players involved in the struggle can
use the lobbies to enter their respective courts. This rule will only be applicable
in the antis court.
5. A raider shall continue to chant KABADDI as the approved cant. If he is not
keeping the approved cant or he looses the cant in the opponent court or takes
more than 30 seconds duration, he shall be ordered back and the opponent will
be given one point and chance to raid. Under such circumstances, he shall not
be pursued.
6. A raider must start his cant before he touches the opponents court. If he starts
the cant late, he shall be ordered back by the Umpire or Referee and the oppo-
nents will be given one Technical Point and a chance to raid.
7. If a raider goes out of turn the Umpire or Referee shall order him to go back and
one Technical Point will be given to opponent team.
8. Not more than one raider shall enter the opponents court at a time, if more than
one raider enters the opponents court at a time, the Umpire or Referee shall
order all to go back to their Court and a Technical Point will be awarded to the
opponent and chance to raid.
9. After a raider has reached his court or is put out in the opponents court, the
opponents shall send their raider within 5 Seconds. Thus alternately each side
shall send their raider until the end of the game. Incase the raider fails to start his
raid within 5 seconds the team looses its chance to raid and the opponent team
gets a Technical point.
10. If a raider, who is caught by the anti or antis, escapes from their attempt to hold

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and reaches his court safely he shall not be pursued.

Note: But if a raider touches the anti or antis and reaches back to his court
safely he may be pursued.
11. When a raider is held, the anti shall not try deliberately to stifle his cant by
shutting his mouth, using violent tackling leading to injuries or use of any unfair
means. If such incident happens, the Umpire or Referee shall declare the raider
safe. (For punishment see No. 3 & 4 of the rules under heading Technical Of-
ficials).
12. No anti shall willfully push the raider out of the boundary by any part of his
(Antis) body, nor shall any raider willfully push or pull an anti or antis out of
the boundary. If the raider is pushed outside the boundary or the anti is pushed,
the Umpire or Referee shall declare the raider or the anti, as the case may be,
as NOT OUT, and the anti or the raider who pushes or pulls the opponents
outside the boundary shall be declared out.
13. During the course of raid none of the antis shall touch the raiders court until
completion of the raid. In case any anti or antis touches the raiders court before
completion of the raid they will be declared out and the opponent team will be
given that many points.
14. If an anti or antis who are out, having violated Rule No.13, holds a raider or
have violated the said rule while holding or helping to hold the raider, the raider
shall be declared NOT OUT and the anti or antis who touches the raiders court
shall be declared OUT.
15. If a raider is warned or in any way instructed by one of his own side, the Umpire
or Referee shall award one Technical Point to the opponent.
16. A raider or an anti is not to be held by any part of his body deliberately other
than his limb or trunk. The one who violates the rule shall be declared OUT.
If the raider is held deliberately other than his limb or trunk, the Umpire or Re
feree shall declare such raider NOT OUT.
Note: If a raider is caught by his clothes or hair the raider shall be declared
NOT OUT and the anti or antis who have violated the Rule No.16 shall be
declared OUT.

RULES OF MATCHES
1 Team:
Each team shall consist of 7 Players and one official. 5 Players shall take the
ground at a time and the remaining 2 Reserves shall be substitutes.

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2 Duration of the match:

The duration of the time of the match shall be two halves of 15 minutes in case
of Men, Women, Junior Boys and Junior Girls with a 5 Minutes interval.
Note: The last raid of each half of the match shall be allowed to be completed even
after completion of the scheduled time as mentioned above.

3 System of Play.
The out and revival rule shall not be applicable. Only points scored shall be
counted.

4 Productive Raid:
Every raid shall be productive either by scoring point/points/ technical point/
self out/raider being caught. Even in case an anti or antis becomes self out, the
raid shall be considered to be over and the raiders side shall be awarded a
point. If the raider returns safely without scoring or productive raid to his court,
the opponent team will be awarded a point. If a raid is more than 30 seconds,
the opponent team shall be awarded a point.

5 Time Out:
a Each team shall be allowed to take Two Time Outs of 30 seconds each in each
half; such time out shall be called for by the Captain or Coach of the team with
the permission of referee. The time out time will be added to match time.
b During the time out the teams shall not leave the ground, any violation in this;
a technical point shall be awarded to the opponent team.
c Official time out can be called for by the Referee / Umpire in the event of any
injury to a player, interruption by outsiders, relining of the ground or any such
unforeseen circumstances. Such time out time will be added to the match time.

6 Substitution:
a Two Reserve players can be substituted with the permission of Referee during
time out or interval.
b Substituted players can be re-substituted.
c If any player is suspended or disqualified from the match, no substitution is al-
lowed for that particular player. The team will play with less number of players.

7 Result:
The team which scores the highest number of points at the end of the match
shall be declared the winner.

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8 Tie in Knock Out:

If there is a tie in the knock out matches, the match will be decided on the
folloing basis:
i Both the teams should field 5 players in the Court
ii Both the teams should give the names of the 3 different raiders with their Chest
Numbers as per their order of raid to the referee. Substitution of players shall
not be allowed from the fielded 5 players.
iii Each team shall be given 3 raids by different raiders to raid alternately.
iv In case any raider in the given list of 3 raiders is injured before his chance of
raid, in such case one of the remaining 2 players in the fielded 5 can do the
raid.
v The side which raids first at the beginning of the match shall be allowed to raid first.
vi Even after 3 Raids if there is a tie, the game shall be decided as per the Golden
Raid Rule.
N.B: If player/players are suspended temporarily or disqualified during the tie
breaker, the team will play with less number of players.

Golden Raid Rule:

Even after 3-3 raids, if there is a tie, a fresh toss will be taken and the team that
wins the toss shall have the chance to raid i.e. GOLDEN RAID.
If there is tie even after the Golden Raid, then a chance will be given to the op-
ponent team for the Golden Raid.
In the Golden Raid the team which scores the leading point shall be declared as
Winner.

9 League System:
In the League System the team that wins the match will score two league points and
the looser will score zero point. In case of Tie both the sides will score one league
point each.

Tie in league points:

If there is a tie in the league points scored in the league system, the winner and runner
of the pool will be decided on the basis of For and Against Points scored by using
the following formula:
a The team which scores less than 25% of the league points will not be considered
for the For and Against Points formula.
b To decide the tie, the For and Against Points of the concerned teams against

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the teams which scored 25% or more of the league points will be considered and
the difference calculated
c The team which is scoring highest score difference of For and Against will be
declared pool winner.
d Even after considering For and Against Points, if there is a tie, the total points
SCORED FOR only shall be counted.
e Even after this if there is a tie, the result of the match played between the teams
is to be considered.
f Even after this if there is a tie, the highest number of points scored without ap-
plying 25% rule shall be considered.
g Even after this if there is a tie, the Winner and Runner will be decided on toss.
Note: Walkover is given to the opponent team by the referee due to late reporting,
non-reporting or due to any other technical issues of the defaulting team. Such team
will be scratched from the competition and the score of such teams shall not be con-
sidered to decide the tie. The same rule shall be applicable to teams which concede
the match also.
10 If owing to failure of light or any other unforeseen circumstances, a match could
not be completed in the same session; such a match shall be replayed in the next
session.
11 In case of temporary suspension of the match, such match shall be continued
with the same score and remaining time in the same session. During the tem-
porary suspension the players shall not leave their respective courts without the
permission of the Referee. If a team violates this rule a technical point will be
awarded to the opponent team.
12 Nails of the players must be closely clipped and no ornaments of any sort shall
be allowed.
13 All players must have distinct numbers on their T-shirt of at least 4 Inches thick-
ness in front and 6 inches thickness at the back. The team should follow the dress
code compulsorily.
14 Application of oils or any other soft substances to the body shall not be allowed.
15 Shoes are compulsory to all the players on the clay surface.

TECHNICAL OFFICIALS
The maximum age limit fixed is 58 years for the AKFI officials to officiate the match-
es. After attaining age of 50 years the official has to undergo a fitness and performance
test of AKFI once in two years. It is mandatory for all the Technical officials of AKFI
to possess and carry the following items whenever assigned with technical duties:
Electronic Stop Watch
Official Uniform comprising Black Trousers, Sky Blue Half Sleeves T- Shirt

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with collar, White Warm Up Shoes with white Socks

Whistle
Warning cards
Pen
Latest AKFI Kabaddi Rules Book
1 The officials shall be One Referee, Two Umpires, One Scorer and One Table
official only.
2 The decision of the umpires on the field shall be final generally but in special
circumstances, the referee may give the decision in the best interest of the game
and also if there is a disagreement between two umpires.
3 Gross violations & Foul:
The referee and the umpires shall have the power to warn, declare point against
or to disqualify any player or team from the match who is committing any of the
following Violations or Foul.
a Persistently addressing the officials in regard to the decision.
b Make derogatory remarks about the officials and action leading to influenc-
ing their decision.
c Point out finger by the raider or anti for demanding decision of the umpire.
d Stifle a raider by shutting his mouth or throat by any way.
e Violent tackling leading to injuries to the body.
f Takes more than 10 Seconds to start the raid.
g Coaching from out side by the coaches and the players.
h Preventing the raider to take his turn of raid.
4 The referee and the umpire can use the following cards to warn, temporarily
suspend, suspend from the match or debar from the tournament a player/coach/
manager/team.
a Green Card: Warning
If green card is shown to a player/ coach/ manager/team twice, then the
next card shall be directly Yellow Card.
b Yellow Card:
Temporary Suspension for 2 Minutes.
If yellow card is shown to player/ coach/ manager/team twice, then the
next card shall be directly Red Card.
Note : * The two minutes suspension of players shall commence from the time the
player is on court only
* If the out player is suspended for two minutes than the suspention will
begin after revival

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* Teams will not be allowed to revive the next out player in place of the
suspended player revival
c Red Card:
Suspension from the match or debarred from the Tournament.
5 Duties of the Referee: The Referee shall:
a Take the toss.
b Start the match.
c Record the time of each Raid.
d Announce the substitution & replacement of players.
e Supervise in general, the conduct of the whole match.
f Declare half time, time out and restart of the match after each time out and
the end of the match with the assistance of the Table Official.
g Announce the score of each side before the last 5 minutes declared.
h Announce the time of each minute of the last 5 minutes of the second half.
6 Duties of the Umpire:
The umpires shall conduct the match and give decisions according to the rules of
play and matches till the game is ended.
7 Duties of the Scorer:
a Fill in the score sheet and announce the score with the permission of the
referee at the end of each half and the result at the end of the match.
b Make a note of the team winning the toss at the start of the game.
c All the points scored by all the players of the team will be recorded in run-
ning score on their respective side on the score sheet diagonally (/).
d The team scoring the first leading point shall be shown in the running score
by square.
e Technical point awarded by the referee or umpire should be encircled (0)
in the running score.
f Time out by the teams be indicated by T against the team concerned.
g Keep a note of the timing in the score sheet at the beginning and at the
end of each half, time out taken by the teams and officials and record the
substitutions made.
h Complete the score sheet in all respects and get it duly signed by the
umpires and referee.

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