Kabaddi World Cup 2016: India face tricky South Korean test in opener

New Delhi: Seven-time champions and favourites India will face South Korea in the opening match of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, to be held in Ahmedabad from 7 to 22 October. The South Koreans will be a tricky first opponents for India as they aim to win their eighth straight World Cup in Ahmedabad. The Koreans boast players like Jan Kun Lee and Tae Deok Eom who have made their mark in the Pro Kabaddi League. Besides hosts India, other participating nations in the tournament are USA, England, Australia, Iran, Poland, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan, Argentina and Kenya. [caption id=“attachment_3004786” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sports minister Vijay Goel formally unveiled the logo of 2016 Kabaddi World Cup[/caption] The 12 teams have been divide in two groups of six each. While Group A consists of India, Bangladesh, South Korea, Australia, England and Argentina, Group B will have Iran, Thailand, Japan, USA, Poland and Kenya. The semi-finals of the tournament will be held on 21 October with the summit clash slated for the next day. Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Wednesday announced the schedule and also unveiled the logo of the tournament – the famous “Asiatic Lion”. Goel also congratulated the Indian paralympians who had won medals in the ongoing Rio Paralympic Games on the occasion. “In Rio Olympics our preparation was very good but we didn’t have luck on our side. But in the Paralympics we are doing very well. It’s a matter of pride that we have four medals in Paralympics. When the paralympians will return we will felicitate them,” he said. International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) president Janardan Singh Gehlot, meanwhile, said their aim now is to take the sport to the Olympics. “We already took kabaddi to Asiad but now we want to take it to the Olympics. We want people to play kabaddi all across the world,” he said. Full schedule:  7th October: India vs South Korea, USA vs Iran 8th October: England vs Bangladesh, Poland vs Kenya, India vs Australia 9th October: South Korea vs Argentina, USA vs Japan, Thailand vs Iran 10th October: England vs Australia, Thailand vs Poland 11th October: Iran vs Kenya, India vs Bangladesh 12th October: Poland vs Japan, Australia vs Argentina 13th October: Thailand vs Kenya, Bangladesh vs South Korea 14th October: England vs Argentina, USA vs Poland 15th October: South Korea vs Australia, Iran vs Japan, India vs Argentina 16th October: Thailand vs USA**,** England vs South Korea, Japan vs Kenya 17th October: Poland vs Iran, Australia vs Bangladesh 18th October: USA vs Kenya, India vs England 19th October: Bangladesh vs Argentina, Thailand vs Japan 21st October: Semi-finals 22nd October: Final With inputs from PTI