MULTAN The opening contest of the Indo-Pak Kabaddi series will be held in Multan on August 7, second match in Chishtian on August 9, third in Pakpattan on August 10, fourth in Faisalabad on August 12 , fifth in Islamabad on August 14 and sixth match in Lahore on August 16.

Indian captain Gurinder Singh Malhi termed the event as a contest between two 'brothers.'

Singh said he was happy and satisfied to be in Pakistan. He said his boys put a lot of effort into the preparation for this series but the real test will begin when the two teams enter the arena.

While talking to the media he said that most of the players in his team were youngsters from Indian Punjab.

'Everybody plays to win but we should take the event in spirit of the game and must appreciate and enjoy the game and the skills applied instead of focusing on result whether victory or loss.'

'People of both countries are like brothers to each other and this is a sporting contest between two brothers,' he added.

The sardar from Punjab praised the hospitality of the locals and said his team loved Pakistani food.

Secretary Pakistan Kabaddi Federation Muhammad Sarwar said that this series has organised in line with Independence Day celebrations. He said that the winning team will get prize money of Rs 425,000 prize while the runner up will get Rs 375,000.

The secretary said the Interior ministry had made foolproof arrangements for security of the Indian team and officials.

Teams

India Gurinder Singh (Captain), Gurpreet Singh, Parvinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Sandeep Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Ranjeet Singh, Jag Raaj Singh, Jitender Singh, Bhagwant Singh, and Bhalraj Singh.

Pakistan Imtiaz Alam (captain), Irfan Ahmad, Akhtar Khan, Kashif Riaz, Tajammul Iqbal, Aziz Ur Rehman, Shehzad Dhilon, Akbar Ali, Muhammad Ashfaq, Shafiq Butt and Omar Hayat.