Pakistan beats Iranian team to win Baba Guru Nanak Kabaddi Cup after Indian side pulls out of final

Pakistan Eagles on Friday night defeated Iran's Lions of Tabriz 54-26 in the final to lift the trophy of the Baba Guru Nanak International Kabaddi Cup which was held at the WAPDA Sports Complex in Lahore.

Lions of Tabriz had to face Pakistan Eagles after SGPC Tigers India could not play final due to severe injuries to four of their players.

But still good entertainment was provided by both the teams to the huge crowd which had turned up with the aim to see Pakistan-India clash.

Pakistan Eagles, led by Kaleemullah Jutt, played exceptional game and their raiders and defenders did a fantastic job to ensure an easy win in the end.

In the battle of emotions, referee also red-carded Lions of Tabriz head coach.

At half time Pakistan were leading 30-18.

Players in action during the final between Pakistan and Iran. Nukta

However, the second half started after a lengthy delay as the organizers introduced the chief guest to the players. SGPC Tigers India's entire squad and their officials were also present on this occasion.

In the second half, Pakistan, also featuring some notable players Heera Butt, Zulqarnain Dogar, Umar Gujjar and Nafees Gujar, played fine kabaddi before emerging victorious with a massive difference of points.

"It would have been fantastic had we played final against India but still Iran also played a good game and I am happy that we won it easily," Pakistan captain Kaleemullah Jutt told Nukta after the final.

Pakistan Kabaddi Federation's (PKF) president Chaudhry Shafay Hussain also witnessed the match and handed over trophies to the contesting teams.

Pakistan Eagles went away with a decent purse of Rs2million with Lions of Tabriz receiving Rs1.5million. SGPC Tigers India was awarded Rs1million.

Shafay Hussain, also a provincial minister, thanked both India and Iran for touring Pakistan and making the event a success.

He also showed Pakistan’s commitment to hold a Kabaddi World Cup in Dubai and also expressed his desire to invite Turkey and China to an international event.

Shafay Hussain said that a solid team will be sent to Canada for the World Cup this August.

Earlier, just before the start of the finale a shocking news emerged when the PKF secretary general Rana Mohammad Sarwar announced that SGPC Tigers India would not be featuring in the final. He said at a hurriedly-called press conference at the venue that India were short of required number of players following serious injuries to their four players.

Due to visa issues SGPC Tigers had arrived in Pakistan with only 11 players in their side and as per international rules a team cannot play a competitive game unless they have minimum of eight players at their disposal.

"And due to development the third placed Iran had to be promoted to play final against Pakistan," Sarwar said.

SGPC Tigers India captain Germanjitsingh Ladda Balpur also attended the press conference.

"We could not sleep last night. We also had to send back one player and its part of the game. Their injuries were so serious that we could not do anything despite our hectic effort to support them and now as rules don't allow us so we had to promote the third placed team Iran's Lions of Tabriz to the final against Pakistan," Sarwar said.

"It's shocking and we could not provide the sort of entertainment which we had planned," added Sarwar, also the secretary of the Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF).

"It was a late development and so the announcement was late also," Sarwar said to a question from this correspondent.

India skipper Germanjitsingh Ladda also expressed his shock over the development.

"It's shocking for us also but nothing could be done," Geemanjitsingh Ladda Balpur said.

A huge crowd was waiting for Pakistan-India final at the venue when this news emerged. The development also shocked the fans.

"The development has shocked me a lot. But still we expect a good final between Pakistan and Lions of Tabriz," a fan Basharat Ali told Nukta.

Another fan Ali Mustafa said that he had come for Pakistan Eagles and SGPC Tigers India final.

"It's really shocking" Mustafa said.

Pakistan on Thursday downed both India and Iran teams quite convincingly to qualify for the final.

In the first show on Wednesday SGPC Tigers India had defeated Lions of Tabriz after a tough contest.

This was after four long years that an international event was conducted in Pakistan.

Some exciting scenes were seen by this correspondent during the final. The love of people with their kabaddi players was immense. Fans followed their favorite stars and took selfies with them and it was a sort of love which is inherited in the game being played mostly in parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"You saw the love and affection of the people with their players and it's the beauty of kabaddi," Pakistan's experienced coach Badshah Gul told Nukta.

Since beating India in the final of the 2020 Kabaddi World Cup in Pakistan the fields of kabaddi were seen quite barren for a few years in Pakistan. The PKF invited India national team a few months ago but government stopped it to cross the border at the last minute leaving the die-hard kabaddi fans utterly frustrated as they were hungry for witnessing both archrivals renewing their kabaddi rivalry.

The PKF president Chaudhry Shafay Hussain also announced that they would again invite India in the future.

The event was held on the occasion of Baisakhi festival in Nankana Sahib. As many as 6700 Sikhs from India have been issued visas for the purpose.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is the main governing body for managing Sikh gurdwaras in India, particularly in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. It also administers Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. The SGPC was established in 1920 and is overseen by the president of the SGPC. It promotes Sikhism.

Sardar Tajinder Singh, chairman of International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) circle wing and Iran Kabaddi Federation vice-president Majid Bahrami also accompanied their teams during the event.

India recently refused to send its national kabaddi team, blind cricket team and cross country team to Pakistan for the bilateral series (kabaddi), Blind Cricket World Cup and for the South Asian Cross Country Athletics Championship which was hosted by Islamabad in February this year.