10-nation Kabaddi World Cup from 9th

LAHORE: Punjab’s three cities - Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujrat - are set to host 10-team Kabaddi World Cup from February 9, 2020. The opening and closing ceremonies of the grand event are scheduled at Lahore’s Punjab Stadium.

In this regard, Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti had a meeting with President Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Ch Shafay Hussain at National Hockey Stadium on Friday.

DG Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh and Secretary PKF Rana Sarwar were also present on this occasion.During the meeting, Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said: “This is the first time that Pakistan is hosting the world kabaddi showpiece event. Holding Kabaddi World Cup in Pakistan is definitely a big honour for all of us. The game of kabaddi is quite popular among young generation in Punjab and that’s why the future of this game looked pretty bright in our country”.

“Ten countries including hosts Pakistan, India, Canada, Germany, Australia, England, Iran, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Azerbaijan will feature in the kabaddi World Cup”. “The ten teams have been divided into two pools – A and B. The teams of India, Iran, Sierra Leone, England and Germany will make up the pool A while pool B is comprised of hosts Pakistan, Canada, Kenya, Australia and Azerbaijan”.

Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said the game of kabaddi will flourish in the region after this grand event and Pakistan’s soft image will also emerge in the world through this multinational mega event. Ch Shafay Hussain, on this occasion said the forthcoming World Cup will give great boost to game of kabaddi in Pakistan. “Certainly, it will be a landmark event in the history of Pakistan”.