November 04, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 22, 1428

MACAU, Nov 3: Asian champions India maintained their supremacy in kabaddi as they beat Pakistan 35-17 in the final of Macau Indoor Asian Games to clinch their second gold here on Saturday at the Luso Chinese School pavilion.

The final was a replica of the Doha Asian Games in which India won the gold by defeating Pakistan with a heavy margin.

Pakistan failed to put up a good show on Saturday and buckled under pressure, especially in the second half, to settle for silver. However, the silver medal proved to be the highlight of the Pakistan campaign here as they failed to win any medal in either chess or snooker while the two-member athletic team managed to earn a bronze medal through Mohammad Sajjad.

Pakistan team appeared defensive throughout the kabaddi showdown. Although they offered their best in the first half, India still managed to lead 17-8. The second half was full of misery for them as the Indians foiled Pakistan attacks with awesome agility and brilliant planning.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Akram failed to motivate his team which looked jaded on occasions and could not avert the Indian assault. The team’s best effort in the match was seen when they narrowed the lead to 8-9 in the first half, reviving some hopes of a comeback that did not happen. Pakistan even fielded their injured raider Maqsood Ahmad but he failed to make an impact.

Those who led India to success were captain Pankaj Shirsat, Jasvir Singh, Naveem Kumar, Joginder Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Jasmer and Dinesh Kumar.

From Pakistan Nasir Ali, Wasim Sajjad, Naveel Akram, Wajid Ali and Sajjd Hussain tried their best to release the Indian pressure with attacking moves and won individual points.

“The defeat was unfortunate. I was not expecting this performance from my team”, said dejected team coach Zubair Ahmad. “The Indians dominated because our players could not rise to the occasion and wasted another chance to win the gold.”—APP