Kabaddi: Women rock, men struggle

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 5

The Indian men’s and women’s began their campaign in the circle style Kabaddi World Cup with contrasting wins at Sarabha village today. 

The Indian men, five-time winners of the tournament, were pushed hard by Sierra Leone before they emerged victorious with a 46-38 scoreline. For India, raiders Sultan, Jashanpreet Singh Raju and Manjot Singh Gill scored 9 points each. The Indian women, though, registered a 30-point victory over Kenya, winning 45-15. The four-time winners were a class above the Kenyans, with raiders Meena and Harvinder Kaur (6 points each) and Karmi (5 points) leading from the front. Stoppers Khushboo and Sukhdeep Kaur scored 4 points each.

England’s men showed that they would be strong contenders for the title. England, maintaining a comfortable lead right from the start of the match, beat Sweden 57-23. England’s raiders Avtar Singh and Gurdeep Singh scored 10 points each. In another match, Canada beat Sri Lanka 60-27. Canadian raiders Inderjit Singh (14) and Ranjodh Singh (10) were dominant against the Lankans. Later, the Iranian men beat Tanzania 62-23. Iran were led from the front by Mugadeen Mohammad (8).