Kabaddi News: Reliving how India roared back from a disappointing setback to win the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup
The 2016 edition of the Kabaddi World Cup was the first Kabaddi World Cup to take place after the launch and eventual success of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi league
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Image credit: pia.images.co.uk Kabaddi in actionIt was the third edition of the Standard-style Kabaddi World Cup. The event took place at The Arena in Ahmedabad, Gujrat.
India's defending champions were expected to steamroll through the tournament to win their third consecutive Standard-style Kabaddi World Cup. However, the fans were shocked after South Korea defeated India 34-32 in their first meeting.
The Indian squad had a three-point lead in the ending moments of the match, but Jang Kun Lee pulled off an impressive reversal to help Korea take control to edge past India.
The Indian captain Anup Kumar and legendary coach Balwan Singh took it as a lesson and maintained an optimistic approach despite the disappointing defeat.
While talking about his experience after the loss to South Korea, Anup Kumar said, "I told the team that winning and losing is just a part of the sport. Perhaps we lost because we were a little too lax and underestimated what the teams participating in the Kabaddi World Cup were really capable of."
The positive outlook worked well for India as they won their next four matches to advance to the Last four in Ahmedabad.
India advanced to the championship match after securing a comfortable 73-20 victory against Thailand in the semifinal.
Ajay Thakur turned the tide in the final
India secured a 38-29 victory against Iran in the final to clinch the Standard-style Kabaddi World Cup title for the third consecutive time.
It was also the third consecutive time Iran and India faced each other in the Kabaddi World Cup championship match.
The Indian side was trailing 13-18 in the first half as Manjeet Chhillar, and Pardeep Narwal struggled to make an impact during the raids. However, Ajay Thakur stepped up in the moment of need to carry the burden of raiding on his back with the help of Nitin Tomar.
Anup Kumar said, "Ajay Thakur made a massive contribution to our victory against Iran. He was outstanding. The way he led by example and put the team on his back and carried us to victory was exemplary."