The third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup will take place in India from October 7th onwards where India will again be the favourites to land the title.
India have won the previous two editions of the tournament and a hat-trick of titles will be on the cards for the national team when it steps foot against 11 other nations in the city of Ahmedabad.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup:
What is the Kabaddi World Cup?
The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup is the third edition of the tournament which is based on the international format of the sport. There is also a World Kabaddi Cup which is played with the circle-style format and should not be confused with this year’s edition.
The tournament will have a total of 12 international teams from across the globe who will be vying to win the title. The tournament is organised by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF). The World Cup was initially scheduled to take place in 2015 in Punjab but was postponed to this year after there had been social unrest in the state.
Venue: The Arena by TransStadia, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Duration: 7th October, 2016 – 22nd October, 2016.
Where to watch: Star Sports Network, Hotstar app.
Also Read: 2016 Kabaddi World Cup Schedule announced; India face tough start
Teams participating:
The World Cup will see a total of 12 teams who will be participating at the tournament which have been divided into two pools of six teams each. Below is the list of the twelve teams:
| Pool A | Pool B |
| India | Iran |
| South Korea | United States of America |
| England | Kenya |
| Australia | Japan |
| Argentina | Thailand |
| Bangladesh | Poland |
Also Read: 2016 Kabaddi World Cup: 5 fascinating things about kabaddi you should know
Favourites:
India will be the favourites to win a third successive title as they have been the most dominant team in the previous two editions of the competition. The team has won seven successive gold medals at the Asian Games since 1990 and have won the Kabaddi World Cup in the year 2004 and 2007.
The team will be captained by raider Anup Kumar, who has been India’s mainstay for the past ten years. India’s 14-member squad has the right mixture of experience and youth in it, which makes them an unbeatable team at the competition. No other team has been able to match India in the past – only Pakistan has been able to defeat India in any major competitions but their participation at the World Cup is still under doubt.
India’s squad:
| Player | Position |
| Ajay Thakur | Raider |
| Anup Kumar (Captain) | Raider |
| Deepak Hooda | Raider |
| Dharmaraj Cheralathan | Defender |
| Jasvir Singh | Raider |
| Kiran Parmar | All-Rounder |
| Manjeet Chhillar | All-Rounder |
| Mohit Chhillar | Defender |
| Nitin Tomar | All-Rounder |
| Pardeep Narwal | Raider |
| Rahul Chaudhari | Raider |
| Sandeep Narwal | All-Rounder |
| Surender Nada | Defender |
| Surjeet | Defender |
