Since the inception of the tournament in 1980, India have been the most successful men’s team in the Asian Kabaddi Championship, winning seven titles in eight editions.
Representation image (Photo: IANS)
Ace raider Arjun Deshwal will spearhead defending champion India’s campaign at the six-nation Asian Kabaddi Championship to be held in Busan, Korea, from June 27 to 30.
Other teams taking part in this 9th edition of the championship, which is being held after a gap of six years, are Iran, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.
Seven-time champion India will take on Korea after Iran and Chinese Taipei clash in the tournament opener on Tuesday.
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The Championship will be conducted in a single-legged round-robin format and the top two teams after the league phase will meet in the final on July 30.
Since the inception of the tournament in 1980, India have been the most successful men’s team in the Asian Kabaddi Championship, winning seven titles in eight editions.
Iran won the 2003 edition in Kangar, Malaysia. India beat Pakistan 36-22 in the final of the last edition of the tournament held in Iran in 2017.
India have named a 12-member kabaddi team for the Busan meet comprising some of the top players from the Pro Kabaddi league (PKL).
The leading raider from the last season in PKL, Arjun Deshwal, will spearhead the Indian attack alongside seasoned raiders like Naveen Kumar and Pawan Sherawat.
The defence is strong with the presence of Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhimwal, Surjeet Singh and Nitesh Kumar.
The other title contender Iran will be without their star defender Fazel Atrachali.
The Asian Kabaddi Championship is a curtain raiser to the upcoming Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8.
Team: Arjun Deshwal, Naveen Kumar, Sachin, Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat, Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Nitin Rawal, Nitesh Kumar, Surjeet Singh, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Pawan Sehrawat.
Stand-by players: Vijay Malik, Shubham Shinde, Coaches: Ashan Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Manager: Bhaskaran Edachery
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