Abu Dhabi: It will be India versus Pakistan in the high-octane opening clash of the six-nation Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018, under the auspices of Dubai Sports Council and organised by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) with Star India Pvt. Ltd.
The nine-day tournament, beginning on June 22, will be held at the Al Wasl Stadium, Dubai. Other participating nations include Republic of Korea, Iran, Argentina and Kenya. The action will be live on Dubai Sports and Star Gold from 7.30pm to 10.30pm.
The tournament is held keeping in mind the 2019 World Cup, which the organisers are planning to host in Dubai and giving the UAE an opportunity to field their own team.
“The Kabaddi ecosystem has seen massive success and has grown at a formidable speed. Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 is a solid step towards the growth of the sport globally. It is an excellent platform for players — both Indian and International to showcase their mettle and make a name for themselves,” said Anupam Goswami, Head of Pro Kabaddi, Star India, in an exclusive interview with Gulf News.
“It is our constant endeavour to improve the experience of Kabaddi in every way possible and Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 has all the necessary elements to further fuel the growth of the sport. We are seeing this event in Dubai as a proof of concept to conduct the World Cup here in Dubai. It also gives us an opportunity to understand the institution we are going to work with,” added Goswami.
The timing of the inaugural event, however, clashes with the Fifa World Cup but Goswami is optimistic that they will still manage to draw in crowd with teams like India, Pakistan and Iran in fray.
“There will be at least two India versus Pakistan matches. I have heard how the kabbadi matches at the 2016 Doha Asian Games saw a full house. What we are counting on is that there is captive following for India and Pakistan teams, respectively. Iran’s matches against Pakistan and India should also pull in crowds. We are also confident of our own team making sure that our events work okay,” asserted Goswami.
The six participating teams are divided into two groups of three. The teams in each group play two matches against every other team in their respective group, with the top two teams from both groups qualifying for the semi-finals. The two teams to emerge as victors from the semi-finals will play each other in a grand finale.
Srinivas Reddy, the coach for the Indian team, said in a statement: “We are very proud that our sport has grown to this scale internationally. Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 will give us the chance to go up against the best teams. We look forward to proving ourselves once again and will go all out to gun for the trophy.”
Mohammad Sarwar, Secretary General of Pakistan Kabaddi Federation, also echoed similar sentiments. “Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 is an excellent opportunity to give athletes from Pakistan the opportunity of showcasing their mettle at an international level. A tournament of this stature does well to bring nations together, as audiences enjoy the best of action the sport has to offer.”
