India has become the first women’s team to win the female version of the Kabaddi World Cup.
The first ever championship tournament for women, which took place in Bihir, saw the native team play againstIranin the final.
India’s national women’s Kabaddi team defeated Iran25-19 at the Patlipura Sports Complex in Patnaon 4th March.
The four day event saw 16 countries participate, includingMexico,Nepal,Malaysia,South Korea,JapanandThailand.
IndiadefeatedJapan60-21 to reach the final, whileIranwon 46-26 againstThailand.
The Indian players took control of the game againstIran, scoring 19-11 by half time.
Indian captain Mamata Pujari scored eight points withIran’s captain catching up with eight points also.
Indiabecame more defensive after halftime and this mindset enabled them to win the match.
Former railways worker Pujari said that her team’s win was down to team spirit.
She told reporters, “All of us combined together and played very well to lift the Kabaddi world cup for the country. I congratulate all my team members.
“Actually we wanted to play better that what we did, but we are happy that our performance just proved to be adequate for the title.”
Kabaddi is a South Asian sport where two teams aim to raid opposite halves of a field. One player, also known as the ‘raider’ will occupy the opposing team’s half, chanting the word ‘Kabaddi’ while trying to touch or tackle the players in order to score points.
If the raider fails to tackle any of the opposition, she will be regarded as “out” and then the other team sends their ‘raider.’
Bihar Deputy Minister Sushil Kumar Modi gave the World Cup trophy to Pujari during a lavish ceremony, with the remaining members winning medals.
When accepting her accolade, Pujari said, “We will aim to keep the world cup forIndiafrom other teams in the future. We will work harder. The team was made from me and Deepika from the seniors and the rest were juniors who played very well.
“Most people say it is a men’s sport but we have proved we can win gold too!”
