KABADDI MASTERS IN DUBAI: Pakistan hope to beat India

KARACHI: Pakistan’s kabaddi team captain Nasir Ali on Thursday said that they would try to beat India in both the group matches of the six-nation Kabaddi Masters 2018, which will begin at the Al Wasl Stadium in Dubai from June 22.

“Yes, India are tough but we can beat them. We will try to win both group matches against them to finish as group winners,” Nasir told ‘The News’ in an interview.

“We have already won matches against India in the Asia Cup and Asian Beach Games in Vietnam and know their strength well,” said Nasir, who has also the experience of playing in the India’s Pro Kabaddi League.

In the nine-day event which will conclude on June 30, Pakistan and India have been clubbed in Group A with little known Kenya while Iran, Korea and Argentina have been bracketed in Group B.

The winners of Group A will face the runners-up of Group B in the semi-finals. It means the Group A winners will face South Korea who are highly likely to finish group runners-up as the 2014 Incheon Asian Games runners-up Iran are a strong side in their group. The Group A is highly unpredictable as close fights are expected between Pakistan and India, which have a long history of rivalry on the kabaddi field and are considered the world’s leading sides of the sport originated in India.

The tournament being held by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) will be opened with the clash between Pakistan and India on June 22. Both the bitter rivals will meet again on June 25. Pakistan-Kenya matches will be held on June 24 and June 27. The semi-finals will be held on June 29.

Nasir says they have a balanced combination. “We are a balanced side. We have strong defence. In our attack too some fine youngsters have been brought in from the Super Kabaddi League (SKL) which has added to its strength.

“Most of our experienced players have been playing against India for the last ten to 15 years and I hope it will be a good tournament for us,” the captain said.

It is expected that more crowd will turn up for witnessing Pak-India matches. This will create a sort of pressure on both sides. But Nasir does not think so in the double league group matches.

“As the group competitions will be played under a double league system so we will not take any pressure and will play tightly against India,” Nasir said.

The Asian style event will be a testing proceeding for the World Cup which IKF plans to hold in the UAE in 2019. If the Masters Cup 2018 is able to pull off the crowd then it will strengthen the IKF resolve to go for the biggest show at the same area next year.

Masters Cup 2018 is going to hold at a time when Asian Games will be just two months away and Nasir said it would benefit Pakistan and other Asian nations of the event to get some good practice.

Schedule: June 22: India v Pakistan, Iran v Korea; June 23: Iran v Argentina, India v Kenya; June 24: Korea v Argentina, Pakistan v Kenya; June 25: Iran v Korea, Pakistan v India; June 26: Iran v Argentina, India v Kenya; June 27: Korea v Argentina, Pakistan v Kenya; June 28: Rest Day; June 29: Semi-finals; June 30: Final.