India hopeful of defending Kabaddi World Cup title

India will face Iran for a third consecutive time in a World Cup final. India defeated Iran in 2004 and 2007 Kabaddi World Cup final. The hosts thrashed Thailand 73-20 in the semi-final clash on Friday.

India thrashed Thailand 73-20 in the semi-final in Ahmadabad on Friday and set up a superb final contest against Iran.

Saturday's summit clash will be the third consecutive World Cup final between these two (2004, 2007 and 2016). It was the Indian side that had the gold medal at the end on the previous two occasions. 

While India dominated Thailand in the semi-final, South Korea forced Iran to put in a hard fight to win a place in the final. Iran won the nail biting penultimate round 28-22.

India began their 2016 Kabaddi World Cup campaign by a loss against South Korea but eventually bounced back with victories over Australia, Bangladesh, England and Argentina. 

The Indian team in this tournament have relied on the combination of experience and a young talent - Ajay Thakur and Pardeep Narwal. The duo once again led India in their victory against Thailand where they notched up 11 and 14 points respectively.

However, it was Indian skipper Anup Kumar who opened his team's account with a bonus point. That was followed by Pardeep with a successful raid that gave India an advantage 

Thailand's Khomsan Thongkham on the other hand, got his country's points chart ticking then with a first touch point. 

India by the sixth minute had an 11-2 lead with the first all-out of the match and there was no looking back since then. 

An experienced Indian side clearly dominated their opponents. By the final whistle, the hosts had 12 all-outs to Thailand's just four.