Kabaddi Team Finishes Second in Masters Cup

Iran national kabaddi team finished runner up at the Kabaddi Masters Cup in Dubai on Saturday after losing to India 44-26 in the final.

The two sides showed an incredibly dominant performance on the mat throughout the group stages as they won all their matches with comfortable margins over their opponents.

India brushed aside challenges from Pakistan and Kenya whereas Iran overcame South Korea and Argentina to make their way to the semifinals, according to Sporskeeda website.

In the semis, Iran took on Pakistan and won 41-20 in a strong all-around showing that left the Pakistani side flustered. Indians were up against the spirited South Koreans and were made to work for the win as Ajay Thakur led the side from the front notching up a 36-20 win sealing their spot in the summit clash.

Iran has been impressive in the tournament with a good 360 degree approach to the mat as it has a good host of all-rounders in the side despite not bringing the full strength squad to the tournament leaving out stars like Fazel Atrachali, Abouzar Mighani, Meraj Sheykh and Abolfazl Maghsoudlou.

However, players like Mohammad Nabibaksh, Mohammad Maghsoudlou and Mohammad Maleki put on a strong performance and posed a threat to the Indians.

India had started cautiously in this year’s Kabaddi Masters and Iran was hoping to put pressure from the starting whistle. However, the Iranians were surprised as India began with a bang in the match going full throttle.

So the national kabaddi team lost the match to the powerhouse and world champion India which has dominated the sport in its history.

The six-nation invitational tournament was organized by the International Kabaddi Federation in association with Star Sports and Dubai Sports Council.

The 2018 Dubai event was held from June 22-30. This was also the inaugural edition of the tournament and the first international kabaddi sport event to be held in the Arab state.