Kabaddi World Cup | At midway, India are back from early shock, while Kenya prove surprise package
Although India started as the favourites in the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup which made a return after a gap of nine years, the hosts stumbled at the first hurdle by losing to less fancied South Korea in the tournament opener on 7th of October.
Group A
The two-time world champions couldn’t build on their lead given by Anup Kumar and Rahul Chaudhari in the first game against South Korea. A tremendous fightback from the Korean team, led by the brilliant Jang Kun Lee, saw them win the opening game of the Kabaddi World Cup 34-32.
India needed to erase the disappointment of the opening game to make a comeback, and they did that in grand style. India thumped the Aussies by a humongous margin of 54-20 to make a statement of their superiority in the game. Ajay Thakur and Manjeet Chhillar starred in the game for India.
India won their second game in a row with a comprehensive win against Bangladesh by a score of 57-20. Ajay Thakur (11) and Pradeep Narwal (8) were the stars of the game for the Indians with the latter earning touch points in 5 consecutive raids.
Placed in Pool A alongside, South Korea, England, Australia, Argentina and Bangladesh, India were the overwhelming favourites and now currently stand at the top with 11 points - just a solitary point more than second-placed Korea who
Korea
With one win and one loss each, England and Bangladesh sit at number three and four respectively. Both have five points in their kitty, while the raid points have made the difference in their positions.
Australia managed a victory over Argentina, but the losses they suffered to India and England have made their chances to proceed to the next round almost impossible. With five points from a single victory, the Kangaroos sit at the penultimate position from the lower side.
Argentina’s campaign didn’t get to the best of starts as they lost to Korea and Australia. They are going to face fancied sides like India, Bangladesh and England, and a win seems highly unlikely. With such a position, the African football-frenzy country may end up at the bottom.
Group B
Like Group A, Group B has gone on a scripted tale without an upset. Only Kenya has posed a threat to