Pakistan will lock horns with India in the final of Kabaddi World Cup 2014

Sangrur : Pakistan men’s kabaddi team stormed into the final of Kabaddi World Cup 2014 after trouncing Iran by 56-28 in the semifinal at Dirba, Sangrur on Thursday.

Pakistan will lock horns with India, which routed England by 54-33 in the second semifinal, in the title clash on December 20 (tomorrow) at Sports Stadium, Village Badal, Sri Mukatsar Sahib, Bhatinda.

On the women side, India toppled Pakistan quite comfortably by 47-19 in the semifinal clash at the same venue. National women team will now clash with Denmark in a 3^rd/4^th place encounter on December 19 (today) at Barnala.

In the men’s semifinal, Pakistan showed their kabaddi prowess and outplayed Iran in every department of the game. They overwhelmed their rivals through excellent combination of form, fitness, technique and speed.

Pakistan raiders and stoppers were in prolific form and contributed equally impressive role in the massive victory of their team. At the interval, Pakistan were leading by 29-15.

Muhammad Khan was the most successful raider for Pakistan with seven points. Skipper Shafiq Chishti and Akmal Shahzad Dogar scored six points each followed by Lala Obaid Ullah, Rehman Ishtiaq and M Irfan (5 each), Rana Naeem (4) and Khalil (3). Among stoppers, Musharraf Javed Janjua remained the most effective player with five points while Ali Shan (4), Sajjad Gujjar and Mohsin Wahla struck (3 points each) in Pakistan’s triumph.

Hamid, Ahmed and Mahmood offered little resistance for Iranian team in the second half but that didn’t make any difference in the overall outcome of the match. Pakistan’s final score line showed their grip on the match and even Indian commentators appreciated their dominating style of game.

In women’s competition, Indian female team, who were playing competitive kabaddi for the last 12 years, downed Pakistan without much trouble. Indian women players Sukhwinder Kaur, Annu Rani, skipper Priyanka Rani, Mandeep Kaur and Premika displayed a commanding game throughout the match.

For Pakistan, raider Neelum Riaz remained top point scorer with seven points. Agasta Ajmal, Ammara Razzaq and skipper Madiha Latif also made their presence felt by grabbing few points for their team.

Later, talking to media, Pakistan captain Shafiq Chishti dedicated their huge triumph to victims of Peshawar tragedy. He said that Pakistan team were in immense grief and sorrow but even then they demonstrated great patience and managed to control their sentiments during the match.

Chishti also acknowledged the great role of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and DG SBP Usman Anwar for providing top level training facilities that helped a lot in transforming Pakistan team into a well-knit unit.

Pakistan head coach Ghulam Abbas Butt said that the title clash between Pakistan India will be a mouthwatering contest and our players are ready for that. “The spirits are quite high in Pakistan camp and insha-Allah we will win the coveted title this time,” he predicted.

Pakistan women skipper Madiha Lateef, in her talk, said that her squad was in the shock due to Peshawar tragedy and this was one of the reasons for her team’s ordinary performance in the semifinal. She also admitted that Indian side had vast experience than her team.

Director General Sports Punjab Usman Anwar, on Thursday, congratulated Pakistan men’s team on reaching the final of Kabaddi World Cup 2014. Pakistan thrashed Iran by 56-28 in the semifinal at Sangrur.

DG SBP, in his greeting message, said that the overwhelming performance of our team showed that Pakistan players were in great touch in the semifinal against the strong Iranian team. He expressed his hope that Pakistan team will exhibit the same imposing performance in the title clash.

DG SBP expressed his satisfaction on the fitness and form of Pakistan Kabaddi team saying that the top level fitness always played a key role in the success of any team. “It’s a great plus for Pakistan team that their all the top players are in excellent shape in the key encounters of the mega event,” he added.

Usman Anwar praised the performance of all the male players in the tournament. “The mammoth performance from our kabaddi team is an encouraging performance for the entire nation in this testing time. “It’s an outstanding performance and we are quite determined that our team will clinch World Cup trophy this time,” he added.

About women team’s loss in the semifinal, Usman Anwar was of the view that win and defeat are part of game and we hope that our women team will improve its performance in future.