Despite kabaddi's disappearance from school playgrounds, the tag team sport is making a comeback on the international stage. Riding high on the recent successes of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), the kabaddi World Cup returns after a nine-year gap, with the focus clearly on the promotion of the sport in the 12 participating countries. India, the sole holder of the title, will once again host the tournament that begins today.
Owing to the lack of fan following, the competition was held only when sponsors were available. Both the inaugural edition in 2004 and the second one in 2007 were hosted and won by India. The emergence of the PKL in India has clearly brought the sport back from the lull that it has gone through.
The global event organised by the 32-member International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) will take place at Ahmedabad. The group stage will consist of two pools with six teams each, playing in a round-robin format before the semifinals. The final is to be played on October 22.
Though the Kabaddi Federation of India has hosted five other World Cups since 2010—all of which were won by India—the tournament was not recognised by the IKF, as this was played in one of the Indian styles, as opposed to the international format of the game. The Indian version of the World Cup followed the Punjabi circle style, where the arena is a circle and the rules vary.
The PKL, which began in 2014, follows the international standard and is credited for popularising the sport, especially among the urban masses in India. Small-time players have become household names, once again bringing to light the impact that commercialisation can have on sport. The success of the league spurred the international body to resurrect the neglected global event.
The event, though, has been marred with controversies. Pakistan, considered to be India's most capable opponent, has been dropped from the competition, owing to the cross-border tension. IKF president and founder Deoraj Chaturvedi had announced that Pakistan would not be participating “in the best interest of both nations”. This did not go down well with the Pakistan federation, which likened their omission to a “football World Cup without Brazil”. Pakistan insisted that India should be barred from playing as well.
With Pakistan ruled out, Iran seems to be India’s strongest challenger, with the host having played the Middle East country in both previous finals. Among the 12 nations, Poland will participate in the kabaddi World Cup for the first time.
Interestingly, several players of the participating nations have taken to the sport recently and had been professionals in other sports such as rugby or soccer. While these first-timers will be looking to popularise the sport in their countries, the attention will be clearly on the Indian stars.
The IKF has been keen to expand the sport to countries beyond Asia, where kabaddi is mostly played and followed. Kabaddi has been part of the Asian Games since 1990, and India has won all seven gold medals. Though there have been efforts to include it in the Olympic Games, the Olympics status is given only to sports that are played by men in ‘at least 75 countries and four continents and women in 40 countries and three continents’.
The first two World Cups were relatively low-key events held in Mumbai and did not attract much attention. The organisers have gone all out this time around to ensure that the sport does not once again fade into oblivion.
Groups |
|
Pool A | Pool B |
Argentina | Iran |
Australia | Japan |
Bangladesh | Kenya |
England | Poland |
India | Thailand |
South Korea | USA |
Schedule ; |
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Match | Date | Time | Teams |
1 | 07/10 | 20:00 | IND vs KOR |
2 | 07/10 | 21:00 | USA vs IRN |
3 | 08/10 | 19:00 | ENG vs BAN |
4 | 08/10 | 20:00 | POL vs KEN |
5 | 08/10 | 21:00 | IND vs AUS |
6 | 09/10 | 19:00 | KOR vs ARG |
7 | 09/10 | 20:00 | USA vs JPN |
8 | 09/10 | 21:00 | THA vs IRN |
9 | 10/10 | 20:00 | ENG vs AUS |
10 | 10/10 | 21:00 | THA vs POL |
11 | 11/10 | 20:00 | IRN vs KEN |
12 | 11/10 | 21:00 | IND vs BAN |
13 | 12/10 | 20:00 | POL vs JPN |
14 | 12/10 | 21:00 | AUS vs ARG |
15 | 13/10 | 20:00 | THA vs KEN |
16 | 13/10 | 21:00 | BAN vs KOR |
17 | 14/10 | 20:00 | ENG vs ARG |
18 | 14/10 | 21:00 | USA vs POL |
19 | 15/10 | 19:00 | KOR vs AUS |
20 | 15/10 | 20:00 | IRN vs JPN |
21 | 15/10 | 21:00 | IND vs ARG |
22 | 16/10 | 19:00 | THA vs USA |
23 | 16/10 | 20:00 | KOR vs ENG |
24 | 16/10 | 21:00 | JPN vs KEN |
25 | 17/10 | 20:00 | POL vs IRN |
26 | 17/10 | 21:00 | AUS vs BAN |
27 | 18/10 | 20:00 | USA vs KEN |
28 | 18/10 | 21:00 | IND vs ENG |
29 | 19/10 | 20:00 | BAN vs ARG |
30 | 19/10 | 21:00 | THA vs JPN |
SF1 | 21/10 | 20:00 | TBD vs TBD |
SF2 | 21/10 | 20:00 | TBD vs TBD |
Final | 22/10 | 20:00 | TBD vs TBD |