After the loss in the opening game, the mighty Indians got their 2016 Kabaddi World Cup campaign back on track with an emphatic 54-20 win over Australia on Saturday. Jolted after their loss to the South Koreans on Friday, Indians showed why they are the best in the business as they outclassed the Australians by handing allouts four times before the final whistle was blown.
The famed Indian defenders seemed to have learnt their lessons as they worked like a well-oiled machine, throwing the debutants' raiders out at will. Skipper Anup marshalled his troops well, unleashing India's young and talented raider Pardeep Narwal to fetch early points and race into lead.
He then brought on the lanky Ajay Thakur and Nitin Tomar and allrounder Sandeep Narwal to extend the lead. Having acquired a sizable lead going into the second half, the Indians slowed down the pace of the game, consolidated their lead and made substitutions, bringing in local Ahmedabad lad Kiran Parmar towards the later part of the game. The Aussies were quick on their feet as they relied on bonus points to keep their score ticking but clearly lacked in the technical aspect of the game they are still learning. Anup said the win would give confidence to the boys. “The plan was to put pressure on them from the beginning and we managed to execute our plans well,” the skipper said. He said that making changes was their strategy to prepare well for their tie against Bangladesh.
The best match of the night was played out between Poland and Kenya with both teams showing their brute strength on the mat. But after an enthralling 40 minutes of play, it was the men from the African nation who prevailed over the Polish team 54-48.
Koreans, Iranians continue to rock
After surprising India on the opening night, Republic of Korea steam-rolled first-timers Argentina 68-42 to register their second win. Iranians too were in no mood to spare the opposition. The men in black crushed Thailand 64-22 to notch up their second win as well. In the third match of the day, Japan overwhelmed USA 45-19. The Koreans were quickly off the blocks, handing their oppositions their first all out as early as in the third minute and thus began a long series of all outs. All the seven South Americans on the mat were sent back three more time making it a one-way traffic by the time the first half was done. The Koreans were sitting pretty on a 43-11lead going into the second half when the Argentines came roaring back on the other side of it.
The debutants, who looked nervous and kept going for failed advanced tackles in the opening 20 minutes, lifted their spirits and the game in the remaining 20 minutes, much to the delight of the crowd.
Pakistan barred
The 12-nation Kabaddi World Cup kicks off last week, with a decision to bar Pakistan from competing. International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) chief Deoraj Chaturvedi said Pakistan has been denied entry because of a spike in tensions between India and Pakistan. "This is not the right time to engage with Pakistan," Chaturvedi said. "Pakistan is a valuable member of the IKF but looking at the current scenario and in the best interest of both the nations, we decided that Pakistan must be refrained from the championship."
