.The game of Kabaddi is played across the length and breadth of rural India. This popularity can be ascribed to the simplicity of the game and the fact that it requires no sophisticated equipment. Since Kabaddi is an Indian game, India has been at the forefront of promoting the game at the international stage. India played a pivotal role in laying down standard rules and procedures for Kabaddi in the 1950s. The Indian Amateur Kabaddi Federation president Janardhan Singh Gehlot was instrumental in establishing the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) in 2004 and he was elected the first president of IKF. India's efforts to popularize Kabaddi has paid rich dividends as the country has won all the Asian Games gold medals since the game was introduced in the 1990 Beijing Games.
Kabaddi is said to have originated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and is called Sadugudu in Tamil and Chedugudu in Telugu.Kabaddi is also very famous and popular in Punjab and Bangladesh.The sport has a long history dating back to pre-historic times. It was probably invented to ward off croup attacks by individuals and vice-versa. The game was very popular in the southern part of Asia played in its different forms under different names. A dramatized version of the great Indian epic, the "Mahabharata". has made an analogy of the game to a tight situation faced by Abhimaneu, the heir of ' the Pandava kings when he is surrounded on all sides by the enemy. Buddhist literature speaks of the Gautam Buddha playing Kabaddi for recreation.
Kabaddi received its first International exposure during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, demonstrated by Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal, Amaravati, Maharashtra. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) is the central governing body for the game of Kabaddi in India. The AKFI is preceded by the Indian Kabaddi Federation which came into existence in 1950. The AKFI was established in 1973 with the objective of popularizing the game in the neighboring countries and organizing regular National level Men and Women tournaments. Besides the senior nationals, the AKFI also conducts sub-junior and junior nationals and zonal competitions. The current AKFI president is Janardhan Singh Gehlot, who is also the president of the Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation and the International Kabaddi Federation.The AKFI has given new shape to the rules and it has also the rights of modification in the rules.In 1979, a return test between Bangladesh and India was held at different places of India including Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Punjab. 
The Asian Kabaddi Championship was successfully arranged in 1980 and India emerged as the champion and Bangladesh as the runners-up. Bangladesh became runners-up again in 1985 in Asian Kabaddi Championship held in Jaipur, India. The other teams included in the tournament were Nepal, Malaysia and Japan. The game was included for the first time in Asian Games held in Beijing in 1990. Eight countries took part including India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. India won the gold medal and has since won gold at the following three Asian Games in Hiroshima in 1994, Bangkok in 1998 and Busan in 2002. India won the gold medal in the recently concluded 2006 Asian Games at Doha.
In the 1998 Asian games the Indian Kabaddi team defeated Pakistan in a thrilling final match at Bangkok (Thailand). The chief coach of the team was former kabaddi player and coach Flt. Lt. S P Singh.The first World Kabaddi Championship in the history of the game, was organized in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, when more than 14,000 people packed the Copps Coliseum to watch the top players from India, Pakistan, Canada, England, and the United States compete. The next edition was held in Surrey, British Columbia, which hosts the first all-kabaddi stadium. India has remained the unbeaten world champion in Kabaddi ever since it was included in Asian Games and South Asian Federation games. 
In 2008 Sukhbir Singh Badal mooted the idea for a professional world kabbadi league with corporate sponsorship to attract the best kabbadi players from around the world, this proposed league will be based in India with tournaments expected to take place in Canada as well.
The Game: In Kabaddi, two teams compete with each other for higher scores, by touching or capturing the players of the opponent team. Each team consists of 12 players, of which seven are on court at a time, and five in reserve. The two teams fight for higher scores, alternating defense and offense. The court is as large as that for a dodge ball game. The game consists of two 20-minute halves, with a break of five minutes for change of sides. The kabaddi playing area is 12.50m x 10m, divided by a line into two halves. The side winning the toss sends a 'raider', who enters the opponents' court chanting, 'kabaddi-kabaddi'. The raider's aim is to touch any or all players on the opposing side, and return to his court in one breath. The person, whom the raider touches, will then be out. The aim of the opposing team will be to hold the raider, and stop him from returning to his own court, until he takes another breath. If the raider cannot return to his court in the same breath while chanting 'kabaddi', he will be declared out. Each team alternates in sending a player into the opponents' court. If a player goes out of the boundary line during the course of the play, or if any part of his body touches the ground outside the boundary, he will be out, except during a struggle.
It has 3 forms: Surjeevain - The 'Surjeevani' form of Kabaddi is played under the Kabaddi Federation of India, and is governed by its rules and regulations. In the 'Surjeevani' form of Kabaddi, one player is revived against one player of the opposite team who is out. i.e., one out, one in. The duration of the game, the number of players, the dimensions of the court, etc. have been fixed by the Kabaddi Federation of India.Gaminee In the 'Gaminee' type of Kabaddi, there is no revival. When all the players of team are out, the game ends. So there is no time limit in this category.
Amar:In the 'Amar' form of Kabaddi, whenever any player is touched (out), he does not go out of the court, but stays inside, and one point is awarded to the team that touched him. This game is also played on a time basis, i .e the time is fixed. This form of kabaddi is played in Punjab, Canada, England, New Zealand, USA, Pakistan and Australia. In the Amar form of Kabaddi, each team consists of 5-6 stoppers and 4-5 raiders. At one time, only 4 stoppers are allowed to play on the field. Every time a stopper stops the raider from going back to his starting point, that stoppers team gets 1 point. on the other hand, every time the raider tags one of the stoppers and returns to his starting point, his team gets one point. At one time, only one of the stoppers can try to stop the raider. If more than one touch the raider, an automatic point is awarded to the raider's team. If the stopper is pushed out by the raider or vice versa, then the team whose member is still in the field gets a point. If both the raider and the stopper go out, the result is a common point, where nobody gets a point. There is a 30 second time limit for the raider from the moment he leaves until he returns to his starting point. This rule was only recently introduced (1994) after controversy with some raiders