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40' South Korea 22-28 Iran - Last two minutes of the game and Korea's raid is destroyed by a Fazel Atrachali ankle hold. Into the last minute and it is now only a matter of time. They take one more man down. This is over. Meraj with the last raid and this is over. IRAN ARE IN THE FINAL
38' South Korea 22-26 Iran - The Men in Black are piling on the pressure here and another tackle leads them to reducing South Korea down to three men. Empty raid by Iran. They are playing to their strengths here. Eom dancing around and cannot get anything. Meraj with a do or die raid with a Super Tackle on. SUPER TACKLE. South Korea get two back.
36' South Korea 20-25 Iran - Jang Kun Lee raids and he is taken down by the Iranian defender, who produces a double thigh hold. Iran lead by 4 and Jang Kun Lee is off the mat. Can Iran seize the momentum? Do or die raid for Iran and he gets a touch point. Is it game over for Korea?
Iran call a timeout here as Fazel seems to have done his ankle. This is turning out to be a pulsating contest. Iran lead by three points with six minutes remaining. Can Iran hang on or Jang Kun Lee will produce magic? Let's find out.
34' South Korea 20-23 Iran - South Korea are being smart and they are keeping Jang Kun Lee on the mat. Abbas with the raid but it is empty and Kim with a pursuit. Both teams are playing on the do or die raid here. Empty raid by Korea and Iran have the do or die raid. Mohammedismael is trapped. South Korea behind by two points now but Iran make it three with an excellent tackle.
32' South Korea 19-22 Iran - There are 10 minutes remaining and Korea are still being patient. Meraj with the do or die raid and he is taken down. Crucial point for South Korea here. They need to capitalise on this. Geon is raiding with five men and Iranian defence is too good. South Korea get a point because Suleiman went out of the mat. TIMEOUT called again.
30' South Korea 17-21 Iran - Fazel Atrachali helps his teammate to effect a brilliant tackle. Iran are leading this by 4 points. South Korea need to stay in the hunt and it is Jang Kun Lee gets another empty raid. TIMEOUT called. Momentum with Iran at the moment but South Korea cannot be ruled out.
28' South Korea 17-20 Iran - Iran are playing on the do or die raid and there is no Jang Kun lee but it does matter as Geon with a brilliant toe touch. Jang Kun Lee is back on the mat. Mohamedismail comes on darts around. Empty raid. Jang Kun Lee comes on with five men on the mat. Decides to go back empty handed. Do or die raid for Meraj Sheykh. Bonus available and gets it.
26' South Korea 16-19 Iran - South Korea are turning on the screws here as Meraj Sheykh takes one more point to extend the lead to four. Just as we say that, the Iranian raider is trapped by the Korean defence. They reduce lead to three points.
24' South Korea 15-18 Iran - Mohammad gets the bonus and Iran are in the lead. Jang Kun Lee with an empty raid and that is followed by a flying kick from the Iranian raider. He puts Iran into a two point lead. Fazel Atrachali is laughing. Is this too early? An empty raid by South Korea brings on MohammadIsmael, who goes back empty handed. Jang Kun lee with a do or die raid. Taken Down by Meraj. Iran lead.
22' South Korea 15-15 Iran - South Korea start the second half with two men on the mat and they extend the lead with a bonus point. Meraj Sheykh raids for Iran and he is taken down. SUPER TACKLE. NOO. The defender had his leg out of the mat. Review by South Korea. UNSUCCESSFUL.Meraj survives and Korea down to one man. Iran allow the bonus and the Korean raider goes for broke. ALL OUT
We are back with the second half.
20' South Korea 13-11 Iran - Meraj doing the bulk of the raiding here for Iran and he shows why he is the captain. Flies around and gets a point. Iran are down by just four points. Last minute of the half and Iran get one more point. Iran have slowly made a comeback. South Korea are down to three men. Do or die raid for South Korea and he is off. Iran have made a strong come back HALF TIME.
18' South Korea 13-8 Iran - Meraj has realised that he needs to step up and takes out Jang Kun Lee with a kick. Do or die raid for South Korea and Mohsen hurries unnecessarily. Jang Kun Lee is back on the mat. South Korea are playing this out really well.Can they preserve the lead?
16' South Korea 12-6 Iran - South Korea are on song here and Iran are making errors one after the other. Meraj makes a mistake and goes into the lobby. Mohsen finally gets a point with a good raid.
14' South Korea 11-4 Iran - Iran are looking for a response here and have no clue. Someone needs to talk some sense into Iran here.
12' South Korea 10-4 Iran - Poor sense of judgement from Iran as they have lost the review and South Korea are in the driver's seat. Iran down to two men. Jang Kun Lee comes on to raid and he induces an error. Iran are down to one man. Jang Kun Lee makes it look easy. What a start from Korea.
10' South Korea 4-3 Iran - Iran force the do or die raid and the bonus is not active. JANG KUN LEE channels his inner Jackie Chain and he takes off Fazel Atrachali. What a raid. What a player. He ducks under the Iranian defender to evade him. Korea are leading now and they get one more as the Iranian raider goes in the lobby. Review by Iran. UNSUCCESSFUL
9' South Korea 3-3 Iran - This is an incredibly tactical game going on. No one is giving easy points away. Jang Kun Lee raids and tries the toe touch but forces the do or die on Iran. Meraj raids for Iran and he cannot get the point. South Korea are level. They try to pursue but it is denied.
7' South Korea 2-3 Iran - Abolfazl comes on for the do or die raid and a brilliant ankle hold by the corner. South Korea draw level and Jang Kun Lee comes on to attempt giving his team a lead. Mohsen is next for Iran but he cannot do anything. South Korea are sitting really tight. Do or die raid for South Korea and the Iranian defence attacks. They gobble up the raider. Iran lead again.
5' South Korea 1-2 Iran - Abolfazl raids again as South Korea sit deep and he decides to stay away. Jang Kun Lee comes on and he takes off Suleiman with a running hand touch. He reduces the margin to one point. Meraj Sheykh comes flying and kicks around but South Korea are not stupid and do not give anything.
3' South Korea 0-2 Iran - Sheykh with a do or die raid and delivers. Barges into the corner and evades him to get the point. Iran are away. South Korea with a do or die raid and he is consumed by the Iran defence, which played the waiting game beautifully. BRILLIANT from Iran.
2' South Korea 0-0 Iran - Iran start off the proceedings with Meraj raiding and he looks for the running hand touch. He hustles but it is an empty raid. Jang Kun Lee comes on to a high line Iran defence. He dances around but conservatism stops him. Abolfazl looking for the bonus but it is another empty raid.
Let the games begin
The Iranian team looks solid, both on paper and physical presence. South Korea, on the other hand, are more agile and energetic. We are ready to go.
We are edging closer to the start of the game here and it promises to be a cracker. Will South Korea remain unbeaten or Iran get back to winning ways after losing to Poland in their last league game.
Iran Starting 7: Abozar Mighani, Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari, Farhad Milaghardan, Fazel Atrachali, Meraj Sheykh (C), Abolfazl Maghsoudlou
South Korea Starting 7: Dong Ju Hong (C), Jang Kun Lee, Tae Beom Kim, Dong Geon Lee, Young Chang Ko, Seong Ryeol Kim, Tae Deok Eom
Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's live coverage of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup and today we have for you the semi-final between Iran and South Korea.
South Korea, despite their already known prowess, surprised everyone in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup by winning all their matches and showing great ability to make comebacks. They started the tournament in quite stunning fashion by defeated India 34-32, snatching victory from under the feet of the home side.
The confidence gained from beating India did wonders to South Korea and they ended up on top of Group A after beating Argentina, Bangladesh, Australia and England. Apart from their raiding prowess, symbolised by Pro Kabaddi League star by Jang Kun Lee, they have been water tight in defence, effecting 57 successful tackles during the group stages. The thing that stands out about Korea is the kind of balance the team possesses, which can be seen by the fact that they topped Group A without having a player in Top 5 leaderboard (raiding or tackling)
Iran started the tournament as second favourites to win the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup after India and have done little to diminish the premise. Powerful, aggressive and attacking, Iran, save the match against Poland, have literally dismantled opponents with consummate ease on their way to the semi-final. In fact, after their performance in the first match (52-15 win over USA), it was a foregone conclusion that Iran would steamroll over other opponents and finish on top of Group B.
However, quite interestingly, Iran somehow managed to lose at the hands of Poland in the biggest shock of the tournament and finsh on the second spot behind Thailand, thereby avoiding a semi-final clash with India. Nevertheless, Iran is pure strength, be it in attack or defence, and South Korea will need to play out of their skins to reach the final of 2016 Kabaddi World Cup.
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Iran have showed why they are such a good side and one of the best teams in the world. What a performance from them and they have come back after being down. The Korean team has been heroic but ultimately, the better team won. Thank you for joining us. It is now time for the game between India and Thailand. Catch it here.