India retain Kabaddi WC title – Thakur inspires holders victory over Iran

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AHMEDABAD, India, Oct 23: (Agencies): Inspired by a superlative performance from raider Ajay Thakur, India won the  Kabaddi World Cup for the third time in a row beating fellow powerhouse Iran in the final, at the Transstadia, in Ahmedabad, on Saturday.

In a game of two halves, the two traditional Kabaddi powerhouses went head to head against each other.

Although India got the lead early on, with successful raids from Sandeep Narwal and Ajay Thakur, the Iranians came out with a successful defensive plan, to instill fright in the hearts of the Indians.

However, Pradeep Narwal, who had scored 14 points against Thailand in the semifinals earlier, was off form and Iran soon capitalized went into the lead after a couple of failed raid attempts by India.

This gave Iran the momentum they wanted, as they raced ahead into a 16-12 lead, inflicting the first ‘All Out’ of the night, on India. By half time, the visitors had increased their lead to five points, with an 18-13 lead.

However, the Indians, who have not had to break much sweat since losing their first match of the tournament against South Korea, did not panic.

Ajay Thakur stepped up to the plate, to get India back into the game and with consecutive successful raids in the second half he put India in the lead (21-20) for the first time in the second half.

The momentum had clearly swung India’s way, and the hosts were not going to let this opportunity go easily. Soon, it was India’s turn to inflict an All Out upon Iran and race to a 24-21 lead.

Ajay was the key man for India on the night, as he notched-up 10 raid points, by getting a touch on Iran danger man and captain Meraj Sheykh. This was the fifth consecutive match in which Ajay had notched-up 10 raid points. India remained the undisputed champions of international Kabaddi, with their third World Cup final win over Iran in as many World Cups.

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