NEW DELHI: The 12-nation Kabaddi World Cup kicks off this week in India, with a row over a decision to bar Pakistan from the competition threatening to overshadow the sport’s showcase event.

Iran clash with the United States in Friday’s opening round of the competition that includes top sides from Australia, South Korea, England, Poland, Kenya and Argentina.

With the world cup last staged nine years ago, teams are relishing the chance to compete in the two-week event being held in Ahmedabad.

But the traditional South Asian sport that mixes tag and wrestling and is growing in popularity has been hit with controversy over a decision to exclude highly fancied Pakistan.

The chief of the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), Deoraj Chaturvedi, who is from India, said Pakistan had been denied entry because of a spike in tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations.

“This is not the right time to engage with Pakistan,” he said.

“Pakistan is a valuable member of the IKF but looking at the current scenario and in the best interest of both the nations, we decided that Pakistan must be refrained from the championship.”

Pakistan accused the IKF of unfairly targeting the country, saying both rival nations should have been excluded if there were security concerns.

“We have called a meeting to discuss this issue but let me tell you that a Kabaddi World Cup is no world cup without Pakistan,” said Pakistan Kabaddi Federation secretary Rana Muhammad Sarwar.

“This is just like a football world cup without Brazil,” he said.

Pakistan captain Nasir Ali said his players had been favourites to clinch the cup after defeating India at the six-nation Kabaddi Cup held in Pakistan in May and last month’s Asian Beach Games in Vietnam.

“We were hoping to win the world cup in India by beating India,” he said, adding that fans were being denied matches between the top two sides.

The World Cup comes as the ancient game, played in sandy parks across the subcontinent for generations and once tagged with a dowdy image, is enjoying a new lease of life.

The Pro Kabaddi League, launched in India in 2014 with live television coverage and corporate sponsors, has proved hugely popular and drawn players from Iran and South Korea.

Iran’s skipper Meraj Sheykh, who has played in the league’s last three editions, said his side had grown stronger by playing in India and other international tournaments.

“We have more young players playing for us now and they have the experience of playing in India,” Sheykh said.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2016