ISLAMABAD: Seven Asian teams including India will participate in the third edition of Asian Kabaddi Cup, slated to be held here at POF Wah Cantt from May 2-6.

Speaking at unveiling ceremony of trophy and logo of the tournament, secretary of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation Rana Sarwar told media persons on Monday that seven teams will be participating in the event. Besides defending champion and host Pakistan,

India, Nepal, Iran, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan will vie in the event which will be held in circle style.

Flanked by President POF Wah Sports Control Board, Dr.Amir Murad and director sports PTV Dr Nauman Niaz, the secretary informed the media that all arrangements have been finalised to hold the event in style. POF is the main sponsor of the event.

To a query, the secretary said that event is recognised by International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) and the Asian Kabaddi Federation. “All international rules and regulations will be applied in this event. Neutral umpires will supervise all matches,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nauman said that PTV Sports in order to promote kabaddi in the country will telecast all matches. “We are paying special focus on all traditional games,” he said.

Later on, while speaking to Dawn, Rana Sarwar said that PKF is optimist that national team will manage to defend its title. “Our players have been training hard for the last several weeks and will do well at the event. We had set up a training camp on Spril 10 at Pakistan Sports Complex which has now been shifted to POF Wah,” he said and added that the event will be helpful in revival of other sports in the country.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2016