Kabaddi is a South Asian team sport. In Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam, the name derives from the word (கை-பிடி) "kai"(hand), "pidi"(catch), which could be translated into "Holding Hands." Two teams, occupy opposite halves of a field and take turns sending a "raider" into the other half, in order to win points by tackling members of the opposing team; the raider then tries to return to his own half
, holding his breath and chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" during the whole raid. In the international team version of kabaddi, two teams of seven members each occupy opposite halves of a field of 10m × 13m in case of men and 8m X 12m in case of women. Each has three supplementary players held in reserve. The game is played with 20 minute halves and a five minute halftime break during which the teams exchange sides. Teams take turns sending a "raider" to the opposite team's half, where the goal is to tag or wrestle ("confine") members of the opposite team before returning to the home half. Tagged members are "out" and temporarily sent off the field. Meanwhile, defenders must form a chain, for example, by linking hands; if the chain is broken, a member of the defending team is sent off. The goal of the defenders is to stop the raider from returning to the home side before taking a breath. The raider is sent off the field if:
the raider takes a breath before returning or
the raider crosses boundary line or
A part of the raider's body touches the ground outside the boundary (except during a struggle with an opposing team member). Each time a player is out the opposing team earns a point. A team scores a bonus of two points, called a lona, if the entire opposing team is declared out. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins. Matches are categorised based on age and weight. Six officials supervise a match: one referee, two umpires, a scorer and two assistant scorers