The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup was the third edition of the Kabaddi World Cup. It was organised by the International Kabaddi Federation and contested from 7 to 22 October 2016 in Ahmedabad, India. Twelve countries competed in the tournament.

2016 Kabaddi World Cup
Tournament information
Dates7 October 2016–22 October 2016
AdministratorInternational Kabaddi Federation
Government of Gujarat
FormatStandard style
Tournament
format(s)
Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s)India
Venue(s)The Arena, Ahmedabad
Participants12
Final positions
Champions India (3rd title)
1st runners-up Iran
2nd runners-up South Korea
 Thailand
Tournament statistics
Matches played33
Best RaiderIndia Ajay Thakur (64 points)
Best DefenderIndia PO Surjeet Singh (23 points)
← 2007
2025 →

India won their 3rd World Cup by defeating Iran 38–29 in the final.

Participating countries

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Team Captain
  Australia Campbell Brown
  Bangladesh Md. Aruduzzaman Munshi
  England Someshwar Kaila
  India Anup Kumar
  Iran Meraj Sheykh
  Japan Masayuki Shimokawa
  Kenya David Mosambayi
  Poland Michał Śpiczko
  South Korea Dong Ju Hong
  Thailand Khomsan Thongkam
  Argentina Cesaro Roman
  United States Troy Bacon

Twelve teams competed in the tournament.[1] Pakistan was originally scheduled to participate in the tournament, but was removed due to increased tensions between India and Pakistan. The International Kabaddi Federation argued that it was "not the right time to engage with Pakistan". The Pakistani team criticized the move, arguing that it was comparable to holding a FIFA World Cup without Brazil.[2]

Venue

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The tournament was hosted at The Arena (currently known as The Arena by TransStadia, pending the sale of official naming rights), a newly constructed convertible stadium in Ahmedabad. In its standard configuration, it operates as an outdoor football pitch capable of seating 20,000. The venue utilizes technology licensed from the British firm StadiArena, which allows a portion of the field to be partitioned into a 4,000-seat indoor arena, which is used for the tournament. The venue is a public-private partnership with India's Department of Tourism[3][4]

Marketing

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Emblem

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The official emblem of the tournament was unveiled on 14 September 2016 by Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel. It incorporates a stylized lion, representing the Asiatic lions of Girnar. The use of a lion symbolizes the "ferocity of a Kabaddi defender and the agility of a raider", while its striped mane represents the worldwide participation in the tournament.[5][6]

Broadcasting

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Star Sports served as host broadcaster of the tournament. In a partnership with Voke, all matches were also streamed in 360-degree video with stereoscopic 3D options.[7][8]

Countries Broadcaster
  Australia Fox Sports
  Canada Commonwealth Broadcasting Network
  India Star Sports
Latin America ESPN
  Saudi Arabia OSN Sports
  United Kingdom Sky Sports
  United States ESPN3;[9] on 8 August 2017, ESPNU carried an encore of the final as part of its programming stunt "ESPN8: The Ocho"—a marathon of obscure and unconventional sporting events.[10][11]

Group stage

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Pool A Pool B
  India
  Bangladesh
  England
  Australia
  South Korea
  Argentina
  Iran
  United States
  Poland
  Kenya
  Thailand
  Japan

Pool points system:

Win 5 points
Draw 3 points
Loss (Score difference is less than or equal to 7) 1 point
Loss (Score difference is More than 7 points) 0 point

Pool A

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Team Pld W D L SF SA SD Pts Qualification
  South Korea 5 5 0 0 256 148 108 25 Advance to knockout phase
  India 5 4 0 1 286 112 174 21
  Bangladesh 5 3 0 2 251 144 107 16
  England 5 2 0 3 190 230 −40 10
  Australia 5 1 0 4 146 311 −165 5
  Argentina 5 0 0 5 161 345 −184 0

7 October 2016
20:00
India   32–34   South Korea
Report

8 October 2016
19:00
England   18–52   Bangladesh
Report

8 October 2016
21:00
India   54–20   Australia
Report

9 October 2016
19:00
South Korea   68–42   Argentina

10 October 2016
20:00
England   69–25   Australia

11 October 2016
21:00
India   57–20   Bangladesh
report

12 October 2016
21:00
  Australia 68–45   Argentina

13 October 2016
21:00
Bangladesh   32–35   South Korea
report

14 October 2016
20:00
England   68–28   Argentina

15 October 2016
19:00
South Korea   63–25   Australia

15 October 2016
18:40
India   74–20   Argentina
report

16 October 2016
20:00
South Korea   56–17   England
report

17 October 2016
21:00
  Australia 8–80   Bangladesh
report

18 October 2016
21:00
India   69–18   England
report

19 October 2016
20:00
Bangladesh   67–26   Argentina

Pool B

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Team Pld W D L SF SA SD Pts Qualification
  Thailand 5 4 0 1 247 165 82 20 Advance to knockout phase
  Iran 5 4 0 1 212 141 71 20
  Kenya 5 3 0 2 225 180 45 16
  Japan 5 2 0 3 172 164 8 12
  Poland 5 2 0 3 211 206 5 11
  United States 5 0 0 5 104 315 −211 0

7 October 2016
21:00
United States   15–52   Iran
Report

8 October 2016
20:00
Poland   48–54   Kenya
Report

9 October 2016
20:00
United States   19–45   Japan

9 October 2016
21:00
Iran   64–23   Thailand

10 October 2016
21:00
Poland   25–65   Thailand

11 October 2016
20:00
Iran   33–28   Kenya

12 October 2016
20:00
Poland   22–33   Japan

13 October 2016
20:00
Thailand   53–21   Kenya

14 October 2016
21:00
United States   29–75   Poland

15 October 2016
20:00
Japan   34–38   Iran

16 October 2016
19:00
Thailand   69–22   United States

16 October 2016
21:00
Japan   27–48   Kenya
report

17 October 2016
20:00
Poland   41–25   Iran

18 October 2016
20:00
United States   19–74   Kenya

19 October 2016
21:00
Thailand   37–33   Japan

Knockout stage

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Semi-finals Final
      
A1   South Korea 22
B2   Iran 28
SF1   Iran 29
SF2   India 38
B1   Thailand 20
A2   India 73

Semi-finals

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21 October 2016
20:00
South Korea   22–28   Iran
report
21 October 2016
21:00
Thailand   20–73[12]   India
report

Final

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22 October 2016
19:45
Iran   29–38   India
report

Statistics

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Top Raiders

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Player Pts
  Ajay Thakur 64
  Khomsan Thongkham 56
  Md Aruduzzaman Munshi 54
  Temi Tope Adewalure 51
  Pardeep Narwal 49

Top Defenders

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Player Pts
  Surjeet 23
  Fazel Atrachali 22
  Manjeet Chhillar 22
  James Odhiamboobi 22
  Surender Nada 21

Awards

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Best Raider   Ajay Thakur
Best Defender   Surjeet
Emerging Player   Jang Kun Lee
Emerging Team   Kenya
Best Referee   S.K. Monu

References

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  1. ^ "Simple, visceral, fun: why the ancient sport of kabaddi is enjoying a resurgence". The Guardian. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Pakistan barred from Kabaddi World Cup in India". BBC News. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Arena by TransStadia: A sneak peek into India's first convertible stadium". Livemint. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Arena By TransStadia In Ahmedabad, India's First Convertible Stadium Hosting Kabaddi World Cup". India Times. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  5. ^ "2016 Kabaddi World Cup Logo Unveiled".
  6. ^ "Official logo of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup launched in New Delhi". 2016 Kabaddi World Cup official website. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Hotstar to stream Kabaddi World Cup in 3D virtual reality". India Today. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Kabaddi World Cup 2016 Live: Now Watch in 3D Virtual Reality on Hotstar". News18. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  9. ^ "U.S. team takes aim at Kabaddi World Cup". ESPN.com. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  10. ^ "ESPN is creating ESPN8: 'The Ocho' for one glorious day". SB Nation. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  11. ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "'ESPN8: The Ocho' to replace ESPNU — if only for a day". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Kabaddi World Cup 2016, India vs Thailand, Highlights: India beat Thailand to reach final". 21 October 2016.
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