Dubai: Sports lovers in the UAE who love the adrenalin rush of watching an India-Pakistan contest should be at the Al Wasl Sports Club in Dubai on Friday. The Kabaddi Masters, an international six-nation tournament, will commence with a battle between the two arch rivals.
The participating countries are India, Pakistan, South Korea, Iran, Argentina and Kenya.
Speaking to Gulf News, India’s Kabaddi team captain Ajay Thakur said: “We are excited to take on Pakistan. I have been getting messages from all over India telling us to play brilliantly and carefully by avoiding mistakes and not to give chances for the opponent. All the kabaddi lovers in India are excited. This will be my fourth match against Pakistan and the third one after I became a captain.”
Thakur, who is considered one of the best raiders in the game’s history, then went on to explain the huge challenge ahead of his team. “It is not only against Pakistan that we are looking forward to win but also against Korea and Iran teams, who are also brilliant. Koreans are very fast players but we have the experience to beat them.”
Though Kabaddi, which is a body-contact team sport played between two teams of seven players, originated from the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India and has now spread from villages to cities and to many parts of the world. “There many new faces in the Indian team and they are all excited to play against Pakistan. We have some really good players like Rohit Kumar, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Rahul Chaudhari and Monu Goyat. Many players have come from the villages including myself and now we get good players from the many clubs in Mumbai.”
Ever since the arrival of Vivo Pro Kabaddi League in India, the game has spread to 11 states and made the players rich too. “We now know how to keep fit and follow a diet as we need to be professionals to ensure that we do well for the franchise teams that buy us. When I started off there weren’t many good coaches, today there are many excellent coaching centres in different parts of India ,” said Thakur, who has 14 years of professional experience and was the star player of the India’s triumph in Kabaddi World Cup final in 2016.
