Psychological Factors Affecting the Success of Raiders and Defenders in Kabaddi

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to compare selected motor components of raiders and defenders in kabaddi players. Kabaddi is a high-intensity indigenous team sport that demands a high level of motor abilities such as speed, agility, strength, power, and coordination. The playing positions in kabaddi, particularly raiders and defenders, require different motor qualities due to their distinct roles during the game. For the present study, thirty male kabaddi players aged between 18 and 25 years were selected from inter-collegiate competitions and divided into two groups: raiders (n = 15) and defenders (n = 15). The selected motor components were speed, agility, muscular strength, explosive power, and coordination. Speed was measured by the 50-meter dash test, agility by the shuttle run test, muscular strength by the push-up test, explosive power by the standing broad jump test,and coordination by the wall toss test. The independent t-test was used to determine the significance of differences between raiders and defenders. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The results revealed significant differences between raiders and defenders in selected motor components. Raiders showed superior performance in speed, agility, and coordination, whereas defenders demonstrated better muscular strength and explosive power. The findings of the study highlight the importance of position-specific training programs in kabaddi to enhance performance.