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The Indian men’s kabaddi team successfully defended their title at the 4th Kabaddi World Cup in a repeat of last year’s final as they beat Pakistan in Ludhiana.
India beat their neighbours 48-39 at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana. The win means a fourth successive World Cup title for the Indian men’s team.
As expected, the match turned out to be great entertainment for the public. The point lead changed almost after every raid with both teams playing hard. India though, managed to establish a small lead of 2 points by half-time 23-21 ahead on the scoreboard.
Pakistan came right back in the second half to tie things up before the hosts once again picked up the intensity and established a 4-point lead to go ahead 34-30. Pakistan did their best to reel in India, but the defending champions saw out the game expertly, managing to maintain a healthy lead the whole time.
Dulla Bagga Pind was adjudged the best raider and Pala Jalapuria was named the Best Stopper.
The Chief Ministers of both the Punjabs – Shahbaz Sharif from Pakistan and Parkash Singh Badal from India – were present at the final. Deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was also present at the event, had earlier opined that the presence of the two Chief Ministers was likely to boost ties between the two countries in trade, sports, culture and tourism.
Every edition of the Kabaddi World Cup has been held in India so far. But next year, both Pakistan and India will jointly host the event as announced on Saturday with the matches to be held in Lahore and Ludhiana.
