The Kabaddi World Cup 2016 gets under way in Ahmedabad on Friday and the best of kabaddi players from 12 countries will be seen plying their trade in the mega tournament. India have won seven gold medals in the sport at the Asian Games, and have also lifted two Kabaddi World Cups.
So will they be able to put up a dominating performance this time around as well? That remains to be seen, as the Kabaddi World Cup 2016 is not expected to be an easy going at all for any team.
There are two groups of six teams each who will play in the round stages, and the top two will progress to the knockouts of the competition.
While Group A consists of India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Korea and Argentina, Group B features Iran, United States, Poland, Kenya, Thailand and Japan. "We [India] will have the crowd behind us to instill confidence. While the opponents will have to deal with it. This will also allow us to play to the best of our abilities," star raider Rahul Chaudhary, who is seen with Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi, told the Indian Express.
One notable omission from the tournament is Pakistan, who have been debarred to participate by the Indian Government in the aftermath of the recent terror attacks. READ: India squad for Kabaddi World Cup 2016.
Kabaddi World Cup 2016 schedule
October 7, 20:00 hrs IST: India vs South Korea
October 7, 21:00 hrs IST: USA vs Iran
October 8, 19:00 hrs IST: England vs Bangladesh
October 8, 20:00 hrs IST: Poland vs Kenya
October 8, 21:00 hrs IST: India vs Australia
October 9, 19:00 hrs IST: Argentina vs South Korea
October 9, 20:00 hrs IST: United States vs Japan
October 9, 21:00 hrs IST: Iran vs Thailand
October 10, 20:00 hrs IST: England vs Australia
October 10, 21:00 IST hrs IST: Poland vs Thailand
October 11, 20:00 hrs IST: Iran vs Kenya
October 11, 21:00 hrs IST: India vs Bangladesh
October 12, 21:00 hrs IST: Australia vs Argentina
October 13, 20:00 hrs IST: Thailand vs Kenya
October 13, 21:00 hrs IST: Bangladesh vs South Korea
October 14, 20:00 hrs IST: England vs Argentina
October 14, 21:00 hrs IST: United States vs Poland
October 15, 19:00 hrs IST: South Korea vs Australia
October 15, 20:00 hrs IST: Japan vs Iran
October 15, 21:00 hrs IST: India vs Argentina
October 16, 19:00 hrs IST: Thailand vs United States
October 16, 20:00 hrs IST: South Korea vs England
October 16, 21:00 hrs IST: Japan vs Kenya
October 17, 20:00 hrs IST: Poland vs Iran
October 17, 21:00 hrs IST: Australia vs Bangladesh
October 18, 20:00 hrs IST: United States vs Kenya
October 18, 21:00 hrs IST: India vs England
October 19, 20:00 hrs IST: Bangladesh vs Argentina
October 19, 21:00 hrs IST: Thailand vs Japan
Semifinals:
October 21, 20:00 hrs IST: TBA vs TBA
October 21, 21:00 hrs IST: TBA vs TBA
Final:
Saturday, October 22, 21:00 hrs IST: TBA vs TBA
Venue
The Arena by TransStadia, Ahmedabad.
TV listings
Star Sports Network (India)
Sky Sports (England)
Fox Sports (USA)
CBN (Canada)
