LAHORE - Pakistan men’s and women’s kabaddi teams returned home on
Monday after finishing runners-up in the Kabaddi World Cup 2014 in
India.
The Sports Board Punjab (SBP) officials and a large number of kabaddi enthusiasts accorded a warm welcome to the national kabaddi teams here at the Wahga Border. The SBP director general, members of kabaddi teams and team officials were garlanded and the kabaddi fans chanted slogans and danced on the drumbeat to welcome to their heroes.
The men kabaddi team earned silver medal while women team won bronze medal in the 5th edition of Kabaddi World Cup staged at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Badal, Sri Mukatsar, India. The men’s team suffered a 45-42 defeat against India in the controversial title clash played on December 20.
Talking to media, the SBP director general said that the excellent performance of Pakistan kabaddi team was being discussed everywhere which was a big success. “Our team got this status in a short period of only three years. Our boys worked hard during this period and emerged as a leading team of the world,” he added.
Pakistan skipper Shafiq Ahmed Chishti said that Pakistan team returned as a winner. “We are the winners by all means and the discrimination committed by the Indian kabaddi officials is open to all. The kabaddi lovers across the world have witnessed how the final match was played and who are the true winners,” he stated.
Chishti blamed the umpires and match officials for their biased approach. "We were harshly treated by the umpires. If they were right then why they called off the final before the stipulated time," he alleged. "The umpires, who were well instructed by the Indian authorities, threatened our players that if they make any objection then the umpires would give point against Pakistan. The match referee has no right to perform his duties if he can’t stop such happenings," he blasted.
The skipper threatened that Pakistan would not take part in the next World Cup in India if the Indian officials did not stop the injustice. "If India wants to hold such a mega tournament in future then they will have to appoint neutral referees and officials," he added.
Chishti dedicated Pakistan’s silver medal to victims of Peshawar school tragedy. He said Pakistan team was in deep sorrow but even then they demonstrated great patience and managed to control their emotions during the semifinal and final.
He also expressed his gratitude to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the DG SBP for extending top level facilities at training camp that helped a lot in transforming Pakistan team into a strong outfit.
Head coach Ghulam Abbas Butt lamented that all the match officials including umpires and referees were Indian. “There should be neutral match officials in a major event like World Cup. No Pakistan kabaddi umpire was issued visa by the Indian authorities,” he disclosed.
Team manager Waqas Akbar said that Indian authorities deliberately refused visas to our players for recently-held World Kabaddi League (WKL) and Kabaddi World Cup which is a big injustice. “We have lodged a written protest to investigative committee which assured us of complete justice after a thorough investigation,” he said.
Pakistan kabaddi team demonstrated wonderful performance throughout the tournament and won six matches on the trot on their way to final. In the semi-final, Pakistan toppled Iran 56-28 while in group stage, Pakistan thrashed Denmark, England, Canada, Sweden and Argentina to emerge as group leaders with 10 points.
Chishti’s men continued their top quality kabaddi in the final and kept the Indian team under pressure for 35 minutes out of 40-minute game. Pakistan’s domination over the Indian team throughout the final was witnessed by all the kabaddi circles.
However, India through negative tactics, managed to take a two-point lead and then the title clash was abruptly declared finished even before the original closing time.
The Sports Board Punjab (SBP) officials and a large number of kabaddi enthusiasts accorded a warm welcome to the national kabaddi teams here at the Wahga Border. The SBP director general, members of kabaddi teams and team officials were garlanded and the kabaddi fans chanted slogans and danced on the drumbeat to welcome to their heroes.
The men kabaddi team earned silver medal while women team won bronze medal in the 5th edition of Kabaddi World Cup staged at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Badal, Sri Mukatsar, India. The men’s team suffered a 45-42 defeat against India in the controversial title clash played on December 20.
Talking to media, the SBP director general said that the excellent performance of Pakistan kabaddi team was being discussed everywhere which was a big success. “Our team got this status in a short period of only three years. Our boys worked hard during this period and emerged as a leading team of the world,” he added.
Pakistan skipper Shafiq Ahmed Chishti said that Pakistan team returned as a winner. “We are the winners by all means and the discrimination committed by the Indian kabaddi officials is open to all. The kabaddi lovers across the world have witnessed how the final match was played and who are the true winners,” he stated.
Chishti blamed the umpires and match officials for their biased approach. "We were harshly treated by the umpires. If they were right then why they called off the final before the stipulated time," he alleged. "The umpires, who were well instructed by the Indian authorities, threatened our players that if they make any objection then the umpires would give point against Pakistan. The match referee has no right to perform his duties if he can’t stop such happenings," he blasted.
The skipper threatened that Pakistan would not take part in the next World Cup in India if the Indian officials did not stop the injustice. "If India wants to hold such a mega tournament in future then they will have to appoint neutral referees and officials," he added.
Chishti dedicated Pakistan’s silver medal to victims of Peshawar school tragedy. He said Pakistan team was in deep sorrow but even then they demonstrated great patience and managed to control their emotions during the semifinal and final.
He also expressed his gratitude to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the DG SBP for extending top level facilities at training camp that helped a lot in transforming Pakistan team into a strong outfit.
Head coach Ghulam Abbas Butt lamented that all the match officials including umpires and referees were Indian. “There should be neutral match officials in a major event like World Cup. No Pakistan kabaddi umpire was issued visa by the Indian authorities,” he disclosed.
Team manager Waqas Akbar said that Indian authorities deliberately refused visas to our players for recently-held World Kabaddi League (WKL) and Kabaddi World Cup which is a big injustice. “We have lodged a written protest to investigative committee which assured us of complete justice after a thorough investigation,” he said.
Pakistan kabaddi team demonstrated wonderful performance throughout the tournament and won six matches on the trot on their way to final. In the semi-final, Pakistan toppled Iran 56-28 while in group stage, Pakistan thrashed Denmark, England, Canada, Sweden and Argentina to emerge as group leaders with 10 points.
Chishti’s men continued their top quality kabaddi in the final and kept the Indian team under pressure for 35 minutes out of 40-minute game. Pakistan’s domination over the Indian team throughout the final was witnessed by all the kabaddi circles.
However, India through negative tactics, managed to take a two-point lead and then the title clash was abruptly declared finished even before the original closing time.
