The men's kabaddi team of India has won all the three tournaments that took place till now, being the most dominating team of the competition.
The standard style of Kabaddi World Cup was started in the year 2004 and is administered by the International Kabaddi Federation. Twelve teams around the world participate in the competition. In 2016, India defeated Iran by a score of 38-29 and kept its place intact on the top of the tournament table. The emblem of the 2016 match was a lion which represented the Asiatic Lions of Girnar. Canada was the second runner-up in the year 2004.
Competition Format
At present, the competition is conducted in a round-robin group stage format in which 6 teams compete in two pools. The first and second finishers in each group move to the semi-finals.
In the standard style of kabaddi, each team consists of seven members each.
The game is played in two parts, each of a duration of 20 minutes. Each team has three players in reserve.
The raider needs to run to the opposing court and tag one or more players to earn a point before he goes out of breath. The raider needs to chant "Kabaddi Kabaddi" in exhaling breath to show the referee that he has not inhaled. If the raider inhales before returning to his court, he will be declared out, and a point will be issued to the opposite team.
A raider will also be declared out if he fails to touch a member of the opposite team. The tagged members will be declared out if they fail to stop the raider who tagged them.
The defenders of the opposite team are not allowed to cross the center line and the raider is not allowed to touch the boundary line. There is a bonus line which gives bonus points to the raider if the raider succeeds in touching the bonus line.
Whenever a player is declared out, the opposite team earns points. A team can gain a bonus of two points if the entire opposing team is declared out by the referee.