What is a raid in kabaddi, and why does the raider keep saying "kabaddi"?
B · Beginner · The game · 2 of 9A raid is one attacking turn. One player crosses into the other team's half, tries to touch defenders and must get back to their own half within 30 seconds. All the while the raider chants "kabaddi" aloud. That chant is called the cant, and a raider who loses it in the other half is out.
How it works
- The cant: "The repeated and clear chanting of approved word KABADDI while raiding".
- Starting it: before the raider touches the opponents' half.
- Thirty seconds: the raid ends when the raider gets back to their own half, with the cant, inside 30 seconds.
- Getting home: any part of the body touching the raider's own half across the mid line is enough.
- Losing the cant: in the opponents' half, the raider is out.
- One raider: only one player raids at a time.
- Turn about: the teams raid alternately. Once a raider is home, the other team must start its raid within five seconds.
- No coaching: a raider must not be coached or instructed by their own side during the raid.
The glossary has the raid, the raider, the cant, the half, the mid line and the technical point.
Tricky cases
A raider starts chanting only after stepping over the mid line. What happens?
The raider is ordered back, the opponents get one technical point and the raid is taken again. The rule calls it a late cant.
A raider stops chanting for a moment while held by defenders. Out?
Yes. "If a raider, while in the opponent's half loses his cant, will be declared out."
Two players of the same team cross to raid together. What happens?
Both are sent back, the opponents get a technical point and the same team raids again.
A team takes its time and the raider sets off after seven seconds. Is the turn lost?
No. The opponents get a technical point, and the team still has its raid.
Why the rule exists
The chant began as proof that the raider was attacking on a single breath, which set a natural limit on a raid. The 30-second clock now does that job more exactly, and the cant remains as the sign that a player is raiding and has not stopped.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Late or improper cant | Technical point to the opponents; re-raid | IKF Rule 32; 66 (1) |
| Raid out of turn | Raider sent back; technical point to the opponents | IKF Rule 33; 66 (2) |
| More than one raider | All sent back; technical point; re-raid by the same side | IKF Rule 34; 66 (3) |
| Raid not started within five seconds | Technical point; the raid is still taken | IKF Rule 35; 66 (4) |
| Raider coached during the raid | The referee or umpire may give a technical point | IKF Rule 43; 66 (6) |
| Pro Kabaddi League | The chant is not policed in the same way; the 30-second clock governs | C; not in this book |
From the rule book
Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, Rules and Regulations of All Forms of Kabaddi (version 2.1.0, the International Kabaddi Federation rules, 2017), Rules 7 to 9, 13, 32 to 35, 37, 43 and 66. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: Rules and Regulations of All Forms of Kabaddi (PDF, a scan).