Staff Reporter
Lahore
Pakistan emerged victorious from a close contest against India in the final of the Kabaddi World Cup on Sunday in Lahore’s Punjab Stadium.
The hosts won 43-41 to become Kabaddi world champions for the first time. Pakistan won the toss and decided to raid first. In the beginning, India was leading and maintained the margin of a couple of points until the first session was over.
The contest between the South Asian neighbours remained neck-on-neck throughout the allotted time, two sessions of 20 minutes each with a break of five minutes.
Towards the end of the match, Indian team’s coach Harpreet Singh raised objection to a point scored by Malik Binyameen but the referee overruled.
Binyameen, along with Irfan Mana and Shafiq Chishti, proved to be too heavy for their Indian counterparts as the three played a significant role in the win.
After the match, the winning side completed a lap of honour around the stadium. A huge number of spectators came to watch the final between the arch-rivals. After the match ended, spectators lifted Pakistan players on to their shoulders, dancing to the beat of drums.
