Indian men, women win World Cup Kabaddi titles

Badal, Muktsar: The Indian men's team continued their winning streak by clinching the fifth Kabaddi World Cup title, while the women's side bagged the crown for the fourth consecutive time, here on Friday.

At a grand finale held at Guru Gobind Singh Multipurpose Stadium, the Indian men's team defeated Pakistan 45-42 for the fourth time, while the women team beat New Zealand 36-27 for the second time in a row.

History repeated itself as both teams in the men and women sections had clashed during the finals of Fourth Kabaddi World Cup at Ludhiana last year and in both the matches, India had emerged victorious.

The men's finals between India and Pakistan was always going to be a close contest and it turned out to be one as is evident from the scoreline.

It was raiders Sandeep Singh Surakhpur (16) and Sandeep Luddar (10) who were the top scorers, while stopper Yadwinder Singh Yada "Surakhpur" also registered 5 points and Gopi secured 3 points respectively to help India's cause.

For Pakistan, raiders Shafiq Ahmad Chishti, Mohammad Irfan and Akmal Sajjad Dogar scored 15, 13 and 6 points respectively, while stoppers Musharaff Javed Janjua secured 4 points for his team.

In the women's final, the Indian eves started on a positive note and lead right from the beginning. Their dominating performance helped them to lead 18-14 at the half time.

Indian raiders Priyanka Devi and Ram Bateri scored 8 points each and Sukhwinder Kaur scored 7 points, while stoppers Anu Rani secured 4 while Ritu and Jasvir secured one point each.

For Kiwis, raiders Lani Perese scored 12, Motu Elizabeth secured 9 and Pomare registered 4 points, while stoppers Titu and Tekawa scored one point each.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbananda Sonowal were also present.

In women's section, the best raiders were Ram Bateri and

Priyanka, while best stopper was Anu Rani. They were awarded with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each.

New Zealand raider Lani Perese and stopper Tito were also awarded with a special cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each.

The best raiders of men section are Sandeep Surakhpur (India) and Shafiq Ahmad Chishti (Pakistan) and best stopper was Yadwinder. They were awarded with Preet Tractors each.

In this event, 11 teams in men section and eight teams in the women section had participated.

The 11 teams of men section included India, Pakistan, Argentina, United States of America, England, Canada, Australia, Iran, Denmark, Spain and Sweden.

In Women section, eight teams participated including Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Mexico, New Zealand, United States of America, England, Denmark and India.

The winner of men section, India, bagged a prize money of Rs 2 crore and first runners up, Pakistan won Rs 1 crore, while the winner of women section, India, were rewarded with a prize money of Rs 1 crore and first runners up, New Zealand, won Rs 51 lakh.

In men section, the Iran team has stood third and won a prize money of Rs 51 lakh, while in women section, the Pakistan team stood third and won a prize money of Rs 25 lakh.

Meanwhile, Parkash Singh Badal inaugurated the ultra modern stadium constructed with a cost of Rs 16 crore.