AHMEDABAD: Defending champions India suffered a shock defeat against a spirited South Korean side on the opening night of the
Kabaddi World Cup
(
KWC
) here in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Having controlled most of the match, the Indian team surprisingly committed crucial mistakes in the dying minutes of the game which allowed the opposition to pip them to the post. The fans in the stadium looked shell-shocked when the final whistle was blown. This was the champion team's first-ever defeat in the history of KWC.
After a slow start to the match, the hosts picked up pace and inflicted an all-out on Koreans as early as the 11th minute of the game. When both teams left the mat during half time, Indians lead 18-13 and would have been thinking of the finish line already.
But the Koreans showed nerves of steal and kept scoring crucial bonus points early in the second half. While the Indians managed to keep Korea's finest raider
Jang Kun Lee silent in the first half, it was the other Lee who came alive and turned it around for the Koreans. With just five minutes to go in the match, a superb raid by
Lee Dong
triggered India's downfall as they were reduced to just one man. Making up for a lackluster show for most of match, Kun Lee finally came into his own and a super raid by him in the 39th minute saw the Koreans tie the game at 30-30 triggering panic waves in the Indian camp.
Anup
Kumar and his boys cracked under pressure and allowed Jang to score two more points in the closing seconds of the game which gave the Koreans the lead (32-31). That was the final nail as the visitors held on for a 34-32 win.
The Korean skipper
Dong Ju Hong
said they believed in themselves and did their homework well. "We marked India's top raiders, especially Anup and
Rahul well."
Start a Conversation
Post comment