Kabaddi is a fixture on almost every school and club sports day in India — but unlike a stage item, it isn’t decided by a judging panel at all. A kabaddi match is scored by raid points, tackle points and the published tie-break order, entered as a result the same way every other Sports-type item is. This guide covers how to run a kabaddi competition inside a school sports day, kalolsavam sports wing or club fest, and how to set it up as a competition item in eTalenter.
Kabaddi scoring: raid and tackle points, not judge marks
Most school and club kabaddi matches use the standard raid-and-tackle scoring that every organiser should publish before the draw:
- Raid point — the attacking team’s raider scores one point for each defending player touched and returned to their own half before the breath (cant) runs out, without being caught.
- Tackle point — the defending team scores one point for stopping the raider from returning — holding them until the breath runs out, or pinning them outside the boundary.
- Bonus point — an extra point for a raider who crosses the bonus line with at least one defender remaining on the mat, in addition to any touch points scored.
- All-out — if a raid leaves the defending side with no players on the mat (all tackled out), the raiding team scores 2 extra points on top of any points already earned, and the defending side’s players return to the mat.
- Lona — a team that scores a double-digit point lead over its opponent (commonly a 12-point gap in school/club rules, 13 in the full national rulebook) wins outright before full time, same idea as a technical knockout.
Whichever variant of these thresholds a fest adopts, the organiser’s job is to publish the exact numbers before the draw, not decide them mid-match. This is an objective, scored result — not a rubric — so the match record decides the winner, the same approach this site uses for chess and carrom, even though kabaddi’s own scoring mechanics (raids, tackles, bonus line, all-out, lona) are entirely its own.
Match format: halves, mat size and team strength
| Setting | Typical school/club value |
|---|---|
| Match duration | Two halves with a short break — commonly 10+10 minutes for HS/HSS, shortened to 7+7 or 5+5 minutes for LP/UP age groups |
| Team strength | 7 players on the mat per side, with a fixed reserve bench for substitutions between raids |
| Mat/court size | Scaled down for younger age groups so raiders can realistically cross and return within a shorter breath count |
| Gender grouping | Boys’ and Girls’ kabaddi run as separate competition items, same as every other Sports-type event |
Choosing a format: knockout, round-robin or league-plus-knockout
The format depends on entries, mats available and time on the sports-day schedule:
| Format | Best for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Knockout | A single sports-day afternoon with one mat and a full day’s programme to fit around it | Single loss eliminates; fastest format, but a weaker team gets only one match |
| Round-robin (group) | A small number of houses/units (under 6–8 teams) with a dedicated kabaddi slot and enough time | Every team plays every other team in its group; fairest result, needs more match time |
| League-plus-knockout | Larger entries (inter-school, zonal or club-circuit level) over more than one day | Group-stage league matches decide seeding, then the top teams from each group go into a knockout bracket for the final placings |
Most single-day school sports days run a straight knockout because kabaddi needs real match time and only one or two mats are usually marked out. Reserve round-robin or league-plus-knockout for a dedicated kabaddi tournament, an inter-school meet, or a multi-day club-circuit event.
Tie-break order — decide this before the draw
A match level on points at full time, or two teams level in the standings after a round-robin group, needs a published order so no result is disputed afterward:
- Head-to-head result — if the tied teams met directly in the group stage, that result decides it first.
- Total points scored across the group — the cumulative raid, tackle, bonus and all-out points across every group match.
- Points conceded — the lower total points allowed to opponents ranks higher when total points scored is also level.
- Sudden-death extra time — a short extra period (commonly 3 minutes, golden-raid rules decided in advance) as the final resort for a knockout match that cannot be left level.
This follows the same discipline as this site’s general tie-break guide: decide the order in advance, publish it with the rules, and never improvise a tie-break after the result is already in dispute.
Rules to settle and publish before the event
| Decision | Typical school/club setting |
|---|---|
| Boundary and baulk lines | A raider or defender stepping outside the boundary during play is out; the baulk line timing for a raid’s minimum crossing distance is explained to younger age groups before the match starts |
| Out-of-turn raid / technical points | A team raiding out of turn, playing with more than the allowed players, or committing a technical foul concedes a technical point to the opponent |
| Injury time-out | A fixed stoppage allowance per team per half so a genuine injury doesn’t force a forfeit, without letting the clock be used to waste time |
| Uniform and safety check | Nails, footwear and any jewellery checked before the team takes the mat — a basic safety step for a contact sport |
| Late arrival / no-show | A fixed grace period after which a team forfeits the match by walkover |
| Mobile phones / outside coaching from the sideline | Zero-tolerance forfeit or technical-point penalty, same standard as every other competition item |
Age-group variants
Kabaddi runs inside eTalenter’s normal age-group structure — LP/UP/HS/HSS at a school sports day, or the numbered group bands a club fest uses — with a few event-specific notes:
- LP/UP — shorter halves, a smaller mat, relaxed all-out and lona thresholds, with a staff referee explaining calls as play goes so younger players understand why a raid or tackle was awarded.
- HS/HSS — standard halves and mat size, full all-out and lona rules enforced, a neutral referee and a scorer recording raid-by-raid points on the sheet.
- Boys’ and Girls’ kabaddi — set up as separate competition items under the same age groups, not a shared item, since team composition and typical match pace differ.
Running a kabaddi competition, step by step
- Confirm entries and mats available, and pick knockout, round-robin or league-plus-knockout accordingly.
- Publish the scoring thresholds (all-out, lona), half length and tie-break order in the rules sheet before registration closes.
- Draw round 1 — random seeding for knockout; group assignment for round-robin or league play.
- Record raid-by-raid points on the match sheet as play happens, not from memory after the match ends.
- Confirm the final score and any all-out/lona result with both team captains before the next match begins.
- Advance winners or re-pair based on the format in use, applying the published tie-break order only when a result is genuinely level.
- Publish the final standings — match-by-match scores, not just the final rank, so results are verifiable.
Printable kabaddi match result sheet
| Match | Team A | Team B | Score (A–B) | All-out / Lona | Referee / Recorded by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 |
Keep one sheet per round; the cumulative scores across every round’s sheet are what the tie-break calculations run against.
How eTalenter handles kabaddi as a competition item
Kabaddi is set up as a Team competition item under Competition Categories/Items Setup, assigned to age groups and gender the same way as any other Sports-type event. Because it’s Sports rather than Arts, there’s no judge-scoring panel at all — organisers record each match on paper at the mat, then use eTalenter’s Assign Results Manually screen to enter the final score for each match. Those results feed straight into results and tabulation, so kabaddi’s standings roll into the overall house or school points table alongside every judged stage item, and the winning team gets published, certificated and awarded exactly the same way.
FAQ
Is kabaddi judged or scored?
Scored, not judged. There is no criteria panel — raid points, tackle points, bonus points and all-out/lona results decide the match, with a published tie-break order resolving a level result. In eTalenter this is a Sports-type item with results entered manually, not a judge-scoring panel.
What format should a school sports day use for kabaddi?
A single-elimination knockout fits most one-day sports days where only one or two mats are marked out. A dedicated kabaddi tournament, inter-school meet or club circuit with more mats and more time can run a round-robin group stage, or a league-plus-knockout format.
How are ties broken in a kabaddi competition?
Publish the order in advance: head-to-head result first, then total points scored across the group, then points conceded, and a short sudden-death extra period only as the final resort for a knockout match.
Running kabaddi, athletics and every other sports-day item alongside your stage items at the same fest? Open a live demo and log in as a demo coordinator or judge — no sign-up, nothing you click can change the event — to see Sports-type results, Arts-type judging and the points table working together across every item type. Running your own event on eTalenter? Message us on WhatsApp or email support@etalenter.com for help with the software. We can’t help with individual entries or submissions to an official sports meet — for that, please contact your school or the event’s organisers.
