Kabaddi World Cup 2016 : India vs Thailand | Preview, Live scores, match centre, and commentary

10/21/2016

After an opening shock defeat to South Korea, India have picked themselves up and powered through to the semifinals of the Kabaddi World Cup against Thailand. Thailand, on the other hand, had defeated Japan in a thriller on Wednesday to set up the last-four clash against the defending Champions.

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India were expected to easily defend their Kabaddi World Cup title, but fumbled at the initial step against South Korea losing 32-34 to their Asian counterparts. Following the early shocker, the Anup Kumar-led team were able to come back strongly in the second match by defeating Australia by a huge margin of 54-20. They continued their domination in the tournament with three thumping wins against Bangladesh, Argentina and England finishing second in the Group A standings.

Despite star raider Rahul Chaudhari not shining in the tournament, Ajay Thakur and Pardeep Narwal guided India to easy victories scoring a combined tally of 63 raid points en route to the semifinal. They now take the mat against Thailand on Friday at 9 PM local time, at the TransStadia, Ahmedabad.

Thailand deserve a special mention as they managed to reach the semifinals despite having the likes of Japan and Kenya in Group B. Thailand have reached the 60-point mark twice in the group stage, which makes them very dangerous in the attack. The teams will either face Iran or Korea, who will compete in the first semifinal on Friday. The final will be played on October 22nd at the TransStadia, Ahmedabad, at 7:45 pm IST.

Squads

India: Squad: Anup Kumar (Captain), Rahul Chaudhari, Manjeet Chhillar, Jasvir Singh, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Pardeep Narwal, Mohit Chhillar, Surender Nada, Surjeet, Ajay Thakur, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Kiran Parmar, Nitin Tomar, Sandeep Narwal

Thailand: Khomsan Thongkham (Captain), Aniwat Phakphian, Chanwit Wichian, Phodsawi Sawangyai, Pramot Saising, Santi Bunchoet, Sarawut Hopet, WaritSongsri, Kittichai Kanket, Peeradach Jantajam, Phuwanai Wannasaen, Sasithon Rungsawang, Khunakon Chanjaroen, Tin Phonchoo

Venue: The Arena by TransStadia, Ahmedabad

Time: 21:00 IST

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