The Pakistan team defended the title quite comprehensively defeating India by 50-31 in the presence of a mammoth crowd. Pakistan remained undefeated in the six-nation affair which was played under the single league system.
It was the first major international sports championship during the last one decade, particularly after an infamous terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009.
The tournament was a rare chance for Pakistan to host a multinational sport event at home. Pakistan sports enthusiasts whole-heartedly welcomed the guest teams and demonstrated wonderful discipline throughout the tourney. It’s pertinent to mention here that Pakistan hosted very few international events that too bilateral or individual in any sport due to security fears during the first 15 years of the 21st century.
The tournament is also considered part of efforts initiated jointly by Pakistan and India to revive the traditional form of kabaddi in the region.
The event, which was jointly organised by the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) and the POF Sports Control Board, was watched by thousands of spectators who braved security checks to reach the ground inside the Wah Cantonment near federal capital Islamabad.
Chairman POF Wah, Umar Mehmood Hayat, and Director General of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Dr. Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera, also witnessed the thrilling finale.
It may be recalled here that India had defeated Pakistan in the final of the maiden edition of the Asian Championship staged in Iran in 2011.
In the second edition in 2012 held at Punjab Stadium Lahore, Pakistan defeated India in the final after the neighbouring team forfeited the last five minutes of the game for alleged biased umpiring.
However, this time the decider ended without any controversy with Pakistan dominating the title clash throughout. The Pakistani players gave complete respect to their opponents and it was a highly friendly gesture shown by all the teams as a neat and fair game of kabbadi was witnessed during the 5-day grand event.
In the final match, after having strong 24-15 lead in the first half, Pakistan started the second half from where they had left the first and continued to dictate terms. The Indians had no answers to the power and agility of their counterparts.
The hosts kept their dominance both in attack and defence with raider Rana Atif doing a spectacular job by scoring a few superb points. The Indian stoppers remained helpless in coping with the agile raider as he was never grabbed during his scores of raids in the thriller. Waqas Butt and Bilal Mohsin also raided superbly, scoring a few precious points for the home team.
Pakistan kept the lead well intact as they led 35-24, 37-25, 42-29, 43-29, 44-29, 45-29 before sealing a 50-31 victory.
Earlier, in the first half, a tough fight was witnessed, with Pakistan keeping their dominance right from the start till the end.
Pakistani raiders Waqas Butt, skipper M. Irfan Mana and Lala Obaidullah dominated the proceedings with their effective raids which the Indian defenders were unable to cope with. And particularly Waqas grabbed several precious effortless points in the jam-packed stadium.
India's top raiders Sandeep, Manoj Kumar and Gagandeep Singh did their best to narrow the gap but the Pakistani defenders did a fine job to foil most of their efforts.
Pakistan led 4-2, 12-7, 17-9, 20-13, 22-15 and at half-time the hosts were leading 24-15. Iran clinched the third position with three wins. They overpowered Afghanistan 57-14 in their last league outing.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain and POF Chief Lt-Gen. Omer Mehmood Hayat inaugurated the Third Asian Kabaddi Championship in a colourful opening ceremony.
Six teams including hosts Pakistan, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka were in race to win the coveted title.
Holders Pakistan were off to a flying start when they defeated Iran in their first game of the 3rd Asian Kabaddi Championship on May 2.
The Pakistani raiders and defenders put Iran under terrific pressure right from the start. In the first half Pakistan were leading 29-12. In the second half too, the hosts kept the visitors under tight control, never allowing them to fight back, and sealed a comfortable 47-22 triumph.
Skipper Musharraf Javed, Rana Atif, Mohammad Maroof and Shafiq Chishti did a fine job for the defending champions.
Pakistan recorded their second victory when they whipped Sri Lanka without any trouble by 56-23. Under floodlights, the hosts kept control over the game right from the first whistle till the last.
Pakistan's prominent raiders including former captain Shafiq Chishti, M. Maroof and Waqas Butt did a fine job and the Sri Lankan stoppers were unable to prevent them from crossing the central line in the stipulated 30 seconds.
Waqas was playing in the event after having stayed away from international action for a couple of years due to fitness issues. World-class stopper Sajjad Gujar and vice-captain Musharraf Janjua also remained impressive in the defence.
In the first half, Pakistan were leading 30-6. In the second half Pakistan kept their dominance overs the Sri Lankans and sealed a comfortable 56-23 victory.
Title favourites Pakistan and India registered their third successive wins when they downed Afghanistan and Nepal, respectively, in their third round matches of the 3rd Asian Kabaddi Championship.
Pakistan crushed Afghanistan 43-13. Pakistani raiders and stoppers completely dominated the game, never allowing the Afghanis any chance of retaliation. India crushed minnows Nepal 48-16.
Pakistan registered their fourth consecutive win when they blanked minnows Nepal 41-18 in their fourth game of the 3rd Asian Kabaddi Championship.
It was a one-sided affair with the hosts dominating the whole proceedings right from the first whistle. The Pakistani raiders and defenders had a fine practice ahead of their vital showdown against arch-rivals India.
India also defeated Iran 43-30 to record their fourth victory on the trot. Iran showed great commitment on the field but their rivals were too strong.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Secretary M. Sarwar told this scribe that holding the 6-Nation Men’s Asian Kabaddi Championship was a remarkable achievement especially in the present circumstances. “The floodlight event became the first major international sports competition in Pakistan during the last seven years,” he added.
Sarwar said it was a great accomplishment to convince five foreign teams to visit Pakistan for the Asian kabaddi event. “We are pretty optimistic that Pakistan will be able to host other major international sports events after the kabaddi championship,” he hoped.
Replying to a question, Sarwar said though there were tough opponents like India and Iran, yet Pakistan had bright victory prospects in the championship. “We had world class players like Shafiq Chishti, Musharraf Janjua and Irfan Mana etc. in our team and that’s why we were quite upbeat about our title winning chances and thanks God, our players lived up to the expectations of the entire nation,” he concluded.
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