Sweet revenge: India crush Pakistan in Kabaddi World Cup
Hosts defeat arch-rivals 59-22 in final.
KARACHI:
Hosts India avenged their recent Asia Cup loss by bulldozing Pakistan 59-22 in an unexpected one-sided final yesterday, enroute to claim the 3rd Kabaddi World Cup title in Ludhiana.
Stopper Ekam Hathur was the star on the night as he gave India a strong start by stopping Pakistan’s best raider Lala Obaidullah twice to give his side an early lead. India then built on that advantage to finish the first-half on 33-9.
The second-half was a same story, as Pakistan’s raiders failed miserably while Indian attackers, led by Sukhvir Saravan, ran riot to help his team clinch the world cup in the grandest of fashion.
India pocketed Rs20 million, while Pakistan received half of the amount. Canada picked up Rs5.1m for finishing third.
The men in green had stormed into the finals by thrashing Canada 53-27 in the semifinal. Earlier, they put a commanding show in their Group C, beating Sierra Leone 55-12 in the opening match, followed by an emphatic 61-21 victory against Scotland, before finally wrapping up the group stage in style as they thumped Italy 66-20.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2012.
Hosts India avenged their recent Asia Cup loss by bulldozing Pakistan 59-22 in an unexpected one-sided final yesterday, enroute to claim the 3rd Kabaddi World Cup title in Ludhiana.
Stopper Ekam Hathur was the star on the night as he gave India a strong start by stopping Pakistan’s best raider Lala Obaidullah twice to give his side an early lead. India then built on that advantage to finish the first-half on 33-9.
The second-half was a same story, as Pakistan’s raiders failed miserably while Indian attackers, led by Sukhvir Saravan, ran riot to help his team clinch the world cup in the grandest of fashion.
India pocketed Rs20 million, while Pakistan received half of the amount. Canada picked up Rs5.1m for finishing third.
The men in green had stormed into the finals by thrashing Canada 53-27 in the semifinal. Earlier, they put a commanding show in their Group C, beating Sierra Leone 55-12 in the opening match, followed by an emphatic 61-21 victory against Scotland, before finally wrapping up the group stage in style as they thumped Italy 66-20.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2012.