Pakistan team was in full control of the final till the last five minutes: Ghulam Abbas Butt

Lahore: Ghulam Abbas Butt, the head coach of national kabaddi team, has expressed his satisfaction over the performance of Pakistan team in the just-concluded Kabaddi World Cup in India.

Talking to media here on Friday at Punjab Stadium, Butt told that his team offered excellent performance in the grand event and the overwhelming form of Pakistan team can be gauged from the match results of the tournament. “Our team remained triumphant in all league round matches and semifinal as well with a clear margin. We only lost the final and that too in a controversial manner. Our team was in full control of the final till the last five minutes. The result of the final could have been different had the umpiring and refereeing been done on merit,” he explained.

To a question about Pakistan players’ fitness, Butt informed that his players were in excellent shape throughout the tournament. “We were quite fluky in the World Cup that Pakistan team didn’t face serious fitness problems and our team displayed quality kabaddi in the event despite having fewer number of players,” he added.

Elaborating his point, Butt said that some of his key players were not issued visas by the Indian authorities and his team played their initial matches with only 11 players. “Despite having incomplete team, our team offered glorious performance in all the matches including the title clash against arch rivals India,” he continued.

Answering a query about the future of kabaddi in the country, Butt, who also has represented Pakistan in dozens of international matches, said that the future of kabaddi has been quite bright in Pakistan and there is no dearth of kabaddi potential in our country. “We are quite fortunate to have immense kabaddi potential in our country especially suburban areas”. “Kabaddi is the mother sport of the sub-continent. It’s in our blood and we will not let down the nation in future kabaddi events,” he promised.