The kabaddi event at a national school sports meet: school boys’ teams in Junior and Senior fields play 40-minute matches, and the winner is the side that earns more points, not a side marked by judges.
Kabaddi is a contact team game in which a single raider crosses into the opposing half, tries to touch one or more defenders and return to their own side, all while repeating the word kabaddi in a single breath. The defenders try to hold the raider until the breath runs out. Points come from successful raids and successful tackles, so the side with more points at the end wins. There is no judging panel and no performance mark, which makes it a sport in the eTalenter sense: the organiser records the outcome of each match, and the score label for the item is Points.
In the national school sports and games template it is a boys-only item with two fields, Junior (under 17) and Senior (under 19). Each field is entered as a team, so a school sends one side per age field. The template’s source handbook states the match duration explicitly as 40 minutes, played as two halves of 20, and that figure is carried into the item. The handbook also describes weight categories for kabaddi, but the platform has no structured field for them, so weight bands, squad size and substitution limits are left to the event notice rather than modelled.
A match day is a run of fixtures. Teams are placed in a league or drawn into knockout rounds, each match is played over two halves with a change of sides at the interval, and a result is needed to decide who moves on. Because a level score cannot always stand in a knockout, the organiser should say in advance how a draw is settled, whether by a short extra period, a golden raid or another method, and who keeps the official scoresheet.
For the organiser the work is courts, referees and weigh-in. Mark enough courts for the fixtures, allot start times with real rest between a team’s matches, name a referee and scorer for every match, and enter each result as soon as the final whistle goes so the table and the next round can be built. Confirm team lists, age eligibility and any weight check before the first fixture, since a Junior side cannot field an over-age player.
Where Kabaddi is run
In eTalenter this item is carried by the national school sports and games template for Indian school-board affiliates, in the Competitive Sports category, for boys only. Kabaddi originated in South Asia and is played in schools, clubs and professional leagues across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with growing play in Japan, Korea and elsewhere. A school meet usually runs it as a short league or knockout because a 40-minute match fits a single session.
- India (national school sports meet for board-affiliated schools)
- South Asia, where the sport is a traditional school and club game
- Worldwide, as a growing school and league sport
Key facts
- Team entry: one side per age field, with squad size and substitutions left to the event notice
- Boys only, in two fields: Junior (U-17) and Senior (U-19)
- Decided by points: the side with the higher total wins, not a judged mark
- Match length in the source handbook: 40 minutes, played as two halves of 20
- Sports item, not Arts: results are entered directly when a match ends, with no judging panel
- Weight categories exist in the handbook but are not modelled on the platform; the handbook’s 5, 3 and 1 medal points decide the overall championship
On eTalenter, Kabaddi is filed under Competitive Sports and typically scored with Points/Score. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Kabaddi is most often entered as an Team competition, commonly run for Male, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 40 minutes where a limit is set.
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means. The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed. Others in this category: Football, Futsal, Cricket, Basketball, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Squash, Hockey, Handball eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed. No criteria match this name, so none are created automatically — judges score it on the event’s own criteria instead.How it is scored
Where it sits
Judging criteria installed for it
What judges look at in Kabaddi
What a Kabaddi panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Raid points: a raider who touches defenders and returns to their own half scores for each defender touched, so the referee’s call on a clean touch and a clean return decides most points
- Tackle points: holding the raider until the raid fails earns the defence a point, and a clean, legal hold is what counts rather than force
- Cant and breath: a raider must keep chanting without a break, and a stopped or restarted chant ends the raid, so referees watch this closely
- Boundary and line calls: stepping out of bounds or crossing the bonus line wrongly changes the score, so the line judges and referee must agree before points go up
- Age and weight eligibility: players must fall inside the field’s age limit and any weight band the notice sets, and an ineligible player can cost the match
- Time keeping and conduct: the two 20-minute halves run to the official clock, and cards or suspensions leave a side short for a set period and go on the scoresheet
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Kabaddi under Scoring Setup, or start from how judging, scoring and tabulation work on eTalenter.
How to prepare for Kabaddi
How entrants and their teachers usually get Kabaddi right on the day:
- Confirm match length, weight rules and the tie-break method in writing before the draw so both sides prepare for the same game
- Drill the raid as a skill: toe touch, hand touch and quick retreat, plus a few safe ways to escape a hold when the breath is running out
- Practise chain and ankle holds in pairs and in groups, so defenders tackle together and avoid illegal grabs that give the raider a point
- Train breath control with timed chanting under effort, because a raider who runs out of breath early loses the raid and the point
- Build a squad that can rotate, since a team may play more than once in a day and tired raiders become easy targets
- Agree defensive formations and who covers each corner in advance, so players are not deciding on the court
- Bring age proof and the team sheet to registration, and pack a spare kit, tape and water so a torn shirt or a strain does not delay the start
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kabaddi judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, commonly for Male, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is Kabaddi judged or scored by marks?
No. It is a sport, so the match ends in a win, draw or loss on points and the result is entered directly. There is no judging panel or criteria sheet.
How long is a Kabaddi match at this meet?
The source handbook states 40 minutes, played as two halves of 20 minutes. Extra time and golden raid rules are not modelled on the platform, so check the event notice.
Can girls enter Kabaddi at this meet?
Not in this template. It is configured as a boys-only item in the Junior (under 17) and Senior (under 19) fields.
Are there weight categories?
The handbook describes them, but the platform has no field for weight bands, so the organiser should state any weight rule and check it at registration.
Want the full judging picture? Read how judging, scoring and tabulation work on eTalenter, or browse every competitive sports competition item.
Try Kabaddi in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Kabaddi, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
