LAHORE: Though kabaddi is a new game in Sierra Leone but it is gaining steady acceptance among young boys and girls in the tiny country situated in West Africa. “Our players are taking great interest in this game and we can say that Sierra Leone will emerge as a strong kabaddi outfit in the next couple of years,” these views were expressed by Sierra Leone kabaddi’s founding President Ravinder Jassal in his exclusive chat with ‘The News’ at his hotel prior to his departure from Pakistan after featuring in Kabaddi World Cup 2020.
Sierra Leone Kabaddi Federation Secretary General Al Haji Dauda, skipper Felex Smith and other players were also present on this occasion.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan kabaddi team won its maiden World Cup title when they dethroned defending champions India by 43-41 in the thrilling title clash at Lahore’s Punjab Stadium on Feb 16, 2020. The third place went to Iranian team which toppled Australia by a margin of 54-33.
As many as nine teams including hosts Pakistan, India, Germany, Azerbaijan, Iran, Canada, Sierra Leone, England and Australia participated in the tournament.
Sierra Leone kabaddi’s founding President Ravinder Jassal informed that it’s not the first kabaddi World Cup for his team. “Sierra Leone had already participated in kabaddi World Cup events in 2012, 2013, 2016 (both men and women teams) in India before the 2020 tournament. “We are trying our best to arrange maximum number of top class national and international kabaddi events for our team so that they can get sufficient experience and exposure before facing leading kabaddi teams of the world,” he added.
“It was a great exposure for our players to participate in Kabaddi World Cup in Pakistan against top teams of the world. Though our team could not win a match in the grand tournament but our players learned a lot by playing against world’s leading kabaddi stars”
Replying a question, Ravinder said: “Promoting the game of kabaddi is our motto and we are planning to promote this game in all African countries. After doing this our next target will be to hold Africa Kabaddi Cup involving all major African countries”.
When asked about how he became President of Sierra Leone Kabaddi Federation, Ravinder told that it’s almost impossible for a foreigner to head a sports federation in Sierra Leone but I managed to do this miraculously. “I faced severe opposition in this regard but I fought my case very tactically and finally I managed to convince the Sierra Leone authorities to establish kabaddi federation in 2011,” he elaborates.
“After formulating kabaddi federation in Sierra Leone, I traced a bunch of talented male and female players for forming kabaddi teams and taught them techniques of raiding and stopping in grueling training sessions. I was amazed to see that Sierra Leone boys and girls learnt kabaddi techniques so quickly even beyond my expectations”.
Answering a question about Pakistan kabaddi team’s visit to Sierra Leone, Australia-based Ravinder said definitely Pakistan is a major force in world kabaddi and we are planning to invite Pakistan kabaddi team to our country in near future. “Our kabaddi players can improve their game to a great extent by playing against senior and experienced team like Pakistan”.
Regarding security situation in Pakistan Ravinder said: “We felt quite comfortable in Pakistan and there is nothing wrong with security over here. We received overwhelming love and respect from Pakistan people throughout our stay here. We can’t forget great hospitality of Pakistan’s peaceful and sports-loving people,” he explained.
Sierra Leone Kabaddi Federation Secretary General Al Haji Dauda, on this occasion said kabaddi is very interesting game and it can flourish in Sierra Leone swiftly but we are getting no financial support from our govt for the promotion of this game. “Despite these monetary hardships we are arranging top class events for our players mainly due to hectic and effective efforts of our President Ravinder Jassal”.
Responding to a question, Al Haji Dauda informed that around 70 per cent population of Sierra Leone is Muslim and we have eight Muslim players in our kabaddi team.
Sierra Leone kabaddi skipper Felex Smith, 36, said: “Sierra Leone team participated in Kabaddi World Cup after winning a qualifying round. “Our players need great improvement in kabaddi skills especially raiding department”.
