Revision as of 17:20, 23 October 2016

Kabaddi World Cup

2016: India beat Iran 38-29 in finals

The Top 5 defenders and raiders in the World Cup, 2016, till the semi-finals

World Cup, 2016: The 5 teams with the highest tackle points; Super 10s;Top 5 highs, till the semi-finals

The teams with the highest raid points, till the World Cup, 2016 semi-finals

Dhananjay Roy, INDIA ARE CHAMPIONS, Oct 23 2016 : The Times of India

Kabaddi team 2016
The Times of India

The highest earning kabaddi players in India in 2016.
The Times of India

Kabaddi moves
The Times of India

Raider Thakur Leads Hosts To Kabaddi World Cup Triumph

Minutes before the semi-final against Thailand in Oct 2016, Anup Kumar, the captain of the Indian team, told a TV presenter that the hosts were about to take the mat in what was going to be their biggest test of the Kabaddi World Cup. Surely , Anup, the battle-scarred veteran, was being modest as one saw his side simply sweep past their opponents to set up the finale against Iran.

Now, this was the contest Anup would readily agree ­ and no one would dispute him either -to being his team's biggest test in the competition. After all, Iran are the side that has consistently been challenging India's supremacy over the years.

And as expected, the match had all the ingredients of a worthy final, with India eventually winning the trophy 38-29. This was India's third straight triumph in the tournament, with Iran finishing runners-up on each occasion.

Raider Ajay Thakur, who had been the tournament's best raider, answered some desperate cries and was the top scorer with 12 points. He finished the tournament on 64 points.

Unlike the match against Thailand where India were allowed a free run throughout the 40 minutes, they were up against the best defensive unit in the competition, who had held themselves back right until the semis against Korea.

And, Iran exercised a vicelike grip on proceedings in the opening 20 minutes when they allowed Anup's boys absolutely no room for any extravagance.Defender Fazel Atrachali was splendid once again, winning a couple of tackle points.

On the other hand, skipper Meraj Sheykh was at his dangerous best, pulling off some spectacular raids, winning five vital points. At one stage, Iran led 1813 and given their determination, the hosts were always going to find it difficult to claw back.

The true test of Pardeep Narwal's doobkis, Thakur's lightning hand touches and Surender Nada's brilliant ankle holds were put to test, but little of it was on display during this stretch of the contest.

In the 25th minute, however, Thakur brought back some energy into the Indian camp when he had both Atrachali and Sheykh off the mat in one excellent swoop. The scores were 19-16 now and the hosts were back in the mix. Gradually , India stepped up their attack with Thakur leading and with 10 minutes remaining, they had earned a vital three-point lead at 24-21.

Important matches for India, Bangladesh

Top 5 clashes of the World Cup, Oct 21 2016 : The Times of India

India vs S Korea

(October 7), Korea beat India 34-32

As favourites, India were expected to beat Korea and get the tournament off to a rousing start. But, as the eventual result showed, they had not accounted for raider Jang Kun Lee who did the star turn for the Koreans with some dazzling display towards the closing stages and ensured India's downfall.

S Korea vs Bangladesh

(October 13), Korea beat Bangladesh 35-32

As in the upset victory over India, South Korea left it for late against Bangladesh too, before pulling off a sensational win in the very last minute. The result also went a long way in putting them at the top of Group A. This win too was a result of raider Jang Kun Lee's last-ditch heroics

2016 WC: Kabaddi's turning point

Dhananjay Roy, 2016 WC: Sport's turning point, Oct 21 2016 : The Times of India

It's not often that one sees sportsmen in India, who don't wield the willow, getting mobbed for autographs and selfies. But things have been different here, at The Arena, where fans have flocked around the stars during the ongoing Kabaddi World Cup. Players like Anup Kumar, Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar, Pardeep Narwal and Surender Nada, who were already household names thanks largely to the four seasons of the Pro Kabaddi League, have acquired greater stardom as the tournament has progressed.

What's more, there have been times when these players have been whisked away by security personnel so that they don't get crushed by the large number of fans pleading for their attention. And, the glitzy setting in which the matches have been staged each evening has only added to the profile of the tournament.

At the conclusion of the league phase, the best four teams ­ India, Korea, Iran and Thailand ­ have progressed to the semifinals, but the past 14 days have provided ample proof that given the right support, there are quite a few teams that can challenge the dominance of the heavyweight kabaddi nations in the coming years.

The International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) has promised to hold the tournament every two years from now, and this initiative will go a long way in not only promoting kabaddi in countries like Argentina, Australia, Poland, the USA, and Kenya, it will also provide India's premier kabaddi league a larger pool to pick their players from. The IKF is also trying hard to find kabaddi a place at the Olympics, and nothing better than well-organised topclass tournaments will help them further their cause.

Meanwhile, at the outset, no one expected some of the weaker teams in the competition ­ Argentina, Australia and USA to dethrone sides like India, Korea and Iran. But, what these fledgling outfits lacked by way of skill and technique, they more than made up by the enthusiasm they showed for the sport and the connect they tried to build with spectators.

While at least three of the semifinalists ­ India, Korea and Iran ­ were expected to stay in the thick of things at the business end of the tournament, Thailand have definitely been the surprise package.

The young side -12 of their 14 players are still pursuing various courses in different universities ­ have been led remarkably by their 24-year-old captain Khomsan Thongkham, who is a trooper in the army .

Kenya and Poland were the other two teams who impressed everyone with their heart for a fight and the African nation was unlucky not to have made it to the semis.Had Japan beaten Thailand on Wednesday by an eightpoint margin, one would have seen Kenya and Iran move up from Group B. Bangladesh, though could have done better in the tournament. But, that was always going to be tough since they were grouped with India and Korea