India hand Pakistan another heavy defeat at Kabaddi Masters

KARACHI: After suffering a 20-36 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India in their opener last week, the Green-shirts were outsmarted again by the Indians late Monday night with 41-17 margin at the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 in Dubai.

It was the third straight win for India in the six-nation tournament. India have already qualified for the semi-finals. They were scheduled to face Kenya in their second game against the east African nation on Tuesday.

Pakistan, who lost both their matches against India, have only a single win to their credit against little-known Kenya.Although, if they beat Kenya in their last group game on Wednesday (today), Nasir Ali’s charges will qualify for the semi-finals but two successive losses against India must have added to the worries of Pakistan Kabaddi Federatin (PKF) ahead of the 18th Asian Games slated to be held in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2.

Going into the event after having played in the inaugural Super Kabaddi League (SKL) in Lahore and having a satisfactory record against the Indians in the Asian Championships, it was expected that Pakistan-India matches would be close ones. But it did not happen as Indians dominated the thickly attended showpiece in both attack and defence once again.

India had a grip over the proceedings right from the start and at half time were leading 18-9. Led by Ajay Thakur, India’s raiders kept the pressure in the second half before sealing a commanding 41-17 victory. Their defence made Pakistani raiders run for their money as Pakistan’s frontline showed weakness again in the event which is touted as a rehearsal for the 2019 Kabaddi World Cup which is expected to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).