As the preparations for the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup are underway in the host city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Sportskeeda took the opportunity to have a chat with the CEO of the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), Deoraj Chaturvedi, about the upcoming mega event of kabaddi in India where the hosts will again be the favourites to win their fourth consecutive title.
Chaturvedi told Sportskeeda that all the eleven other participating teams will start arriving in India in the final week of September, “We are expecting all the teams to start arriving in our country for the World Cup from 25 September onwards.”
The tournament gets underway on 7 October and the final will take place on 22 October at The Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad. The Kabaddi World Cup was first scheduled to take place in Punjab last year but had to be postponed due to the social unrest in the state and will now be held next month.
Also read: India’s Dream Team announced for 2016 Kabaddi World Cup
The international format of the World Cup comprises of a total of 12 international teams from South Korea, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, Argentina, Iran, USA, Poland, Kenya, Thailand and Japan.
No prize money for teams
When asked about the prize money of the World Cup, the CEO of the IKF enquired if there was any prize money in World Cups of other sports like football and hockey. After being informed about the prize money of $35 million that FIFA gave to the winners of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Chaturvedi stated that there was no prize money for the teams.
Chaturvedi added that the preparations for the World Cup were in full flow in the country as they look to host a “great tournament.” He said, “We have been working hard to prepare for the World Cup. The preparations have been done in a great manner.
“The stadium and all the facilities have been taken care of as of right now and we look forward to hosting a great tournament.”
Also read: 2016 Kabaddi World Cup: India's biggest strength is that we play as a team, says Manjeet Chhillar
India have been placed in Pool A of the tournament where they will be facing South Korea in the opening match of the World Cup on 7 October 2016 in Ahmedabad. The Indians will be looking to add one more title to their trophy cabinet as they have previously dominated the earlier three editions of the tournament held in 2004, 2007 and 2011.
