Officiating, rules and dimensions — Kabaddi, Kho-Kho and Athletics

Kabaddi is a contact team game built around the alternation of raid and defence. In standard senior men's play, the court measures 13 m x 10 m and is divided by the midline into two equal halves. The women's court is commonly 11 m x 8 m. The important markings are the end lines, side lines, midline, baulk line, bonus line and lobbies. The baulk line is the minimum progress line for a raider when no touch is made, while the bonus line gives an additional scoring chance when the required number of defenders is present. Lobbies become active only after contact between raider and defender; stepping into them without live contact is normally a line fault.

Each team fields seven players, with substitutes available as per the competition rule book. The player who enters the opponent's half is the raider, and the opponents in that half are anti-raiders or defenders. The raider must keep the continuous cant, traditionally the repeated sound "kabaddi", during the raid. A break in cant, loss of breath control, or failure to return before the raid ends can make the raider out. The game rewards alert footwork, quick retreat, legal holds and disciplined court awareness more than strength alone.

Exam takeaway: remember the court dimensions, seven-a-side structure, midline, baulk line, bonus line and lobby rule before learning advanced tactics.