The 2018 Asian Games winners to train and play matches with Pakistan ahead of September Asiad
KARACHI:
Iran’s men’s kabaddi team, the 2018 Asian Games champions, will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday for a joint training camp with Pakistan as both sides step up preparations for next month’s Asian Games in Japan.
The camp, arranged at the invitation of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF), is expected to provide both teams with valuable match practice ahead of the Asian Games, scheduled to be held from September 19 to October 4.
“We are very much thankful to the Iran Kabaddi Federation for sending their team. It will help both sides prepare well for the Asiad,” PKF Secretary General Mohammad Sarwar told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.
The teams will combine training sessions with daily practice matches, while the federation is also considering a series of games that could be staged as a Test series, Sarwar said.
Iran has emerged as one of the strongest teams in Asian-style kabaddi in recent years. It overwhelmed South Korea in the final of the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia to win the gold medal, underlining its rapid rise in a sport historically dominated by India and Pakistan.
In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Iran had lifted silver.
At the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Iran again reached the final but lost to India and settled for silver. Pakistan took bronze at both the 2018 and 2023 editions.
Pakistan’s other Asian Games medals include silver finishes in 1998 and 2006, but the country has struggled to reclaim the dominance it once enjoyed in both Asian and circle-style kabaddi.
Sarwar said the progress made by Iran and South Korea had changed the competitive landscape in Asian kabaddi, with both teams now capable of challenging India, traditionally the region’s leading force.
“There was a time when both India and Pakistan ruled supreme in kabaddi, both Asian and circle style, but now Iran and South Korea have also made a lot of progress in the Asian style and can even challenge mighty India in the sector,” he said.
Pakistan have selected a 16-member squad for the joint camp after assessing players during trials, the national championship and the previous National Games.
Sarwar said only two members of the squad had represented Pakistan at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, highlighting the youthfulness of the team.
“You know young players have the spark and if you want to develop you will need energetic resources. It’s a good team and I hope the joint training camp will help us prepare well for the Asian Games,” he said.
The inclusion of a largely new group reflects Pakistan’s effort to rebuild its kabaddi programme and develop players capable of competing against the increasingly strong Asian opposition.
“We never returned empty-handed from Asiad and we are trying hard to revive our team so that we could fight for the gold,” Sarwar said.
Iran’s squad will stay at a hotel in Islamabad during the visit until August 27, while the training sessions will be held at Rodham Hall in the Pakistan Sports Complex.
Rahat Maqsood, Mohammad Arshad and Hamid Mukhtar will oversee Pakistan’s players as coaches during the camp.
Sarwar, a former Pakistan captain, said the national team had made good progress in its preparations and hoped the joint sessions with Iran would provide the players with the intensity and experience required for the Asian Games.
“Our training has been good and hopefully it will be a good Asian Games for us,” he said.
For Pakistan, the camp represents an opportunity not only to prepare for the Asian Games but also to measure a new generation of players against one of the continent’s leading kabaddi sides. For Iran, the visit offers competitive preparation against a traditional regional rival as it seeks to return to the top of Asian kabaddi after its silver-medal finish in Hangzhou.
