Kabaddi World Cup 2016 | Preview : India look set to defend title

With the success of the Pro Kabaddi League(PKL), the sport has managed to attract a new fan base, but it still has not managed to fight its way into the “big sports”. With the World Cup “raiding” off tomorrow, we have a look at the tournament and India’s preparation ahead of the tournament.

India have been drawn with South Korea, England, Australia, Argentina and Bangladesh. On the other side of the draw, Iran, the biggest threat to India’s dominance, will play political rivals USA, Kenya, Japan, Thailand and Poland. Iran, who have ended up on the wrong side of the previous two finals, will be gunning for revenge as they make their way to the birthplace of the sport.

India will start their campaign against South Korea, the toughest opponent in the group, on the 7th in the opening game with the latter boasting of stars such as Seong Ryeol Kim and Jang Kun Lee. Australia will post the challenge the very next day before the team get a couple of days off before facing off with sub-continental rivals Bangladesh.

India will lock horns with Argentina next on the 15th of October before facing the English contingent in the group match on the 18th.

The winner will play for it all in the final on October 22nd.

Key Indian Players

1. Anup Kumar

The Captain of the Kabaddi team is now 32 and one of the best players India has ever produced. His unnatural calm in high-pressure situations has earned him the nickname “Captain Cool” of the Kabaddi team. In the PKL, he captains the U Mumba team, who won the second edition of the tournament under his guidance. The MVP of the first PKL season plays as a right raider and his two Asian Games gold medals will hold him in good stead as he steps onto the mat against South Korea.

The former wrestler has been handed the vice-captaincy for the tournament and having skippered the Bengaluru Bulls and the Puneri Paltan he should not face any problems in slipping into the role. On the mat, the 30-year-old functions as an all-rounder being highly effective in the offensive and defensive positions.

3. Rahul Chaudhari

4. Sandeep Narwal

Sandeep Narwal is India’s man of steel who has made a name for himself with his strong full body tackles that have seen him earn 161 tackle points for his teams in the PKL. The 22-year-old is classified as a defensive all-rounder because of 171 raid points in just 62 games in the League. He played an instrumental role in securing the PKL title for Patna in the third season and was rewarded with the Best Defender award.

South Korea

The South Koreans are the biggest threat to India in the group stages with players like Jang Kun Lee and Seong Ryeol Kim among their ranks.

Iran

Iran have been India’s biggest rivals in Kabaddi when it comes to the big stage, reaching the final twice only to lose to a superior Indian side.

Fazel Atrachali, Meraj Sheykh, Hadi Oshtorak and Abolfazel Maghsodlou are the main threat to India’s hattrick hopes with Fazel having scored 95 points in defensive positions in just 32 matches.

Meraj and Abolfazel, on the other hand, have been impressive as well scoring 161 and 25 points respectively with the latter getting his points in just 12 matches.