Pakistan and India to lock horns

LUDHIANA: Kabaddi giants and traditional rivals Pakistan and India will fight for the inaugural World Cup Kabaddi Punjab 2010 on April 12 after recording thumping victories in their respective semi-finals.

Pakistan beat Italy by 57-33 while India outplayed Canada 51-36. The World Cup, that carries a prize money of Indian Rs22 million will be played in Ludhiana.

Witnessed by more than 75,000 spectators, a formidable Pakistan displayed their power in kabaddi, catching and raiding to regularly collect points. Captained by Imtiaz Alam, Pakistan were leading by 27-19 at half-time.

The close margin hinted at a close finish but Pakistan came back strongly in the second half. Babar Gujjar proved himself a robust raider as he gained seven points, while Afran Ludhiania also contributed ten valuable points for his team.

Italian captain Kamaljit Kala kept his country’s flag flying high and earned 11 points. He was well supported by Channa Kheriwali and Daljit Singh Lamber, who got six and four points respectively.

Meanwhile, encouraged by the home crowd, India toppled Canada, who were handicapped by the absence of their star raider Sandeep Singh Lallian. Sandeep Singh Sukhpuria engineered Indian’s well-deserved victory while Kulwinder Singh Bihari Puria and Kuldeep Singh Sukhpuria were the main raiders for Canada.

Indian captain Mangat Singh Mangi Bagga got six points from his 11 tries to stop the Canadian team. Kuljit Singh Malsihan was the best Canadian raider by securing 15 points from his 17 fast raids. A large number of kabaddi fans were however, left disappointed after they could not get entry into the stadium after the seating capacity proved insufficient