A brilliant second half performance
saw India stage a memorable comeback as they beat Iran 38-29 in the title clash
to lift the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. In a match contested between two titans of
the sport, India beat a resolute Iran side to become the world champions.
Riding on a terrific performance by Ajay Thakur's 12 points, India produced a strong comeback in the second
half at the TransStadia Arena to send the packed crowd into raptures.
The final was like a boxing bout as
both teams traded punches and gave it as good as they got. India struck the
early blows as Sandeep Narwal and Thakur scored raid points to lead 2-0 in the
third minute. Meraj Sheykh scored Iran's first point as they leveled the game
at 2-2 in the fourth minute. Iran's defence was up for it as they
contained Pardeep
Narwal effectively and then sent Thakur to the
bench to lead 5-4 in the eighth minute.
The match lived up to its
expectations as both teams fought hard and refused to give an inch. Skipper Anup Kumar scored his trademark bonus point to level the scores at
6-6 in the 10th minute. Meraj Sheykh scored with an excellent raid and reduced
India to just three men as Iran led 9-7 in the 13th minute. India's defence had
a below par first 15 minutes as they scored just one tackle point.
Iran made India commit errors as
Meraj Sheykh forced Manjeet Chhillar off the court during a raid to lead 19-13
in the 23rd minute. Thakur scored two points in the 25th minute as India cut
the lead to three points and sent Fazel Atrachali and Meraj Sheykh to the bench.
The tide turned for India when Ajay Thakur scored his ninth point in the 29th
minute to level the game at 20-20. India inflicted their first all out the
match in the 30th minute to lead 24-21 as they took their biggest lead of the
match.
Kenya were named the emerging team
of the tournament as they won a lot of hearts and almost made it to the semifinals.
Jang Kun Lee who had a superb tournament was named the Most Valuable Player of
the World Cup. The best referee of the tournament award was given to SMA Mannan
from Bangladesh.
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