Kabaddi Masters will take the Indian sport of kabaddi to foreign shores. It is not a first for the game, but the six-nation tournament will be a stepping stone for kabaddi to spread its wings beyond the peripheries of the Indian sub-continent
The tournament, to be hosted at the Al Wasl Sports Club in Dubai, will be a nine-day action-packed affair showcasing the best of Kabaddi action on Star Sports, and will witness a stiff battle between all the six participants.
Besides India and Pakistan, the four other sides in the tournament are South Korea, Iran, Argentina and Kenya.
Commenting on the tournament, International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) president Janardan Singh Gehlot said: "Kabaddi is fast becoming a renowned sport globally, and we at IKF look forward to exploring options for a comprehensive international Kabaddi calendar that is active annually, successfully pinning Kabaddi across the world map."
"Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 is our first step in that direction and will elevate the stature of our sport considerably. We are thankful to the Dubai Sports Council as well as Star India for their strong role in making this happen," he added.
Indian kabaddi team for Kabaddi Masters Dubai. Image Courtesy: Star Sports
Format
The six teams are divided into two groups of three. The teams in each group play two matches against every other team in their respective group, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the semi-finals.
Group A:
India, Pakistan, Kenya
Group B:
Iran, South Korea, Argentina
Full schedule
22 June
India vs Pakistan - 8 pm IST
Iran vs South Korea - 9 pm IST
23 June
Iran vs Argentina - 8 pm IST
India vs Kenya - 9 pm IST
24 June
South Korea vs Argentina - 8 pm IST
Pakistan vs Kenya - 9 pm IST
25 June
Iran vs South Korea - 8 pm IST
India vs Pakistan - 9 pm IST
26 June
Iran vs Argentina - 8 pm IST
India vs Kenya - 9 pm IST
27 June
South Korea vs Argentina - 8 pm IST
Pakistan vs Kenya - 9 pm IST
29 June - Semi-finals
SF1: A1 vs B2 - 8 pm IST
SF2: B1 vs A2 - 9 pm IST
30 June - Final
Winner of SF1 vs Winner of SF2 - 8 pm IST
Full squads
Argentina
Federico Gramajo, Rafael Acevedo, Gabriel Sacchi, Mariano Pascual, Jorge Barraza, Sebastian Desocio, Roman Cesaro, Nahuel Lopez, Javier Camera, Franco Castro, Matias Martinez, Sebastian Canencia, Nahuel Villamayor
India
Ajay Thakur (C), Manjeet Chhillar, Girish Maruti, Ernak, Surjeet, Raju Lal Choudhary, Surender Nada, Mohit Chhillar, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Sandeep Narwal, Pardeep Narwal, Rohit Kumar, Rishank Devadiga, Rahul Chaudhari, Monu Goyat
Iran
Hadi Tajik, Mohammad Amin Nosrati, Amirhossein Mohammad Maleki, Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh, Mohammad Ghorbani, Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudlou Mahalli, Mohammad Kazem Naseri, Mohammadreza Shadloui Chianeh, Emad Sedaghatnia, Afshin Jafari, Mohammad Taghi Paein Mahali, Mohammad Malak, Saeid Ghaffari, Hamid Mirzaei Nader
Kenya
David Mosambayi, Ogak Odhiambo, Chrispine Otieno, Obiero Victor, Obilo James, Erick Ocheing Oduor, Nicholas Mutua, Embuga George, Elphas Otieno, James Kamweti, Patrick Nzau, Izaac Njoroge, Esau Otieno, Kevin Wire
Pakistan
Nasir Ali, Waqar Ali, Mudassar Ali, Qaisir Abbas, Kashif Razzaq, Muhammad Nadeem, Sajjad Shaukat, Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Safian, Abid Hussain, Akhlaq Hussain, Wasim Sajjad, Muhammad Nisar, Muzammal Hussain
South Korea
Lee Dong Geon, Eom Tae Deok, Lee Jae Min, Lee Jang Kun, Hong Dong Ju, Kim Dong Gyu, Park Chan Sik, Jo Jae Pil, Kim Seong Ryeol, Park Hyun Il. Kim Gyung Tae, Ko Young Chang
Telecast:
All matches will be shown LIVE on Star Sports network.
Updated Date: Jun 20, 2018 13:49:42 IST
