Kabaddi Masters Highlights: India Beat Pak, Kenya to Reach Semis
The final is scheduled to be held on 30 June.
With four straight wins, pre-tournament favourites India cruised to the semi-finals of the Kabaddi Masters tournament at the Al Wasl Sports Club in Dubai. The Asian Kabaddi Champions and 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winners beat Pakistan and Kenya twice each in the league stages to finish their group on top.
The six-nation tournament, hosted by the International Kabaddi Federation, featuring India, Pakistan, Kenya, Argentina, Republic of Korea and Iran began on 22 June and is scheduled to finish on 30 June.
India started the tournament with 36-20 over ‘arch-rivals’ Pakistan, with captain Ajay Thakur scoring 15 raid points, helping the team fetch 12 more points in tackle. In the post-match press conference, Pakistan coach Nabeel Ahmed said that the team’s late arrival as well as the fact that they were missing two of their star raiders could have contributed to their loss.
In their second game, India beat a relatively young Kenya 48-19 on 23 June. Pro Kabaddi League’s most expensive player, Monu Goyat, picked up 10 raid points in his first start for the country.
Playing Pakistan yet again, India won their third group match 41-17 to book a place in the semi-finals. Goyat was again the star raider, topping the charts with seven raid points. Captain Ajay Thakur and Rishank Devadiga scored six points each as they inflicted two all-outs en route another convincing victory.
In their final league game, world champions India routed Kenya 50-15 to finish their group A campaign with four wins from as many matches. Pradeep Narwal made a fine comeback, top-scoring with nine with his incisive raids, while substitutes Rahul Chaudhari (8) and Deepak Hooda (5) made equal impact.
India next take on Republic of Korea in their semi-final match at 9 pm on 29 June. The other semi-final will be played between Iran and Pakistan on the same day at 8 pm. The final is scheduled to be held on 30 June.
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