The sport of Kabaddi has long been a part of South Asian countries and is rapidly gaining popularity in the rest of the world. After a hiatus due to Covid-19, international Kabaddi tournaments will be resuming this year. In February 2021, the 2nd Junior World Kabaddi Championship for Boys Under 20 will be held at an undisclosed venue. This competition has created excited buzz in the global Kabaddi community, with anticipation for the matches and for possible new fans gained from these competitions. It promises to offer a true test for teams from all over the world, as they showcase their skills in an exciting tournament atmosphere. With many other international tournaments happening this year, it appears that 2021 could be an amazing year for Kabaddi on the global stage.
With its rich history spanning more than 4,000 years, Iran is becoming a powerhouse of the global kabaddi scene. In November of 2019, the country celebrated what many considered a major milestone when it hosted the inaugural Junior World Kabaddi Championship in Kish Island. Much to the delight of the large Iranian crowd that had gathered there, their team went on to win gold, with Kenya claiming second place respectively. Since then, many talented players from both Iran and other participating teams have come to prominence as stars in the Pro Kabaddi League thanks largely to their success at Kish Island. Notable names include Mohammadreza Shadlu Chiyaneh, Amirhossein Bastami and Reza Mirbagheri from Iran as well as Haiderali Ekrami from Kenya. With Tehran’s selection as the tournament’s new host city this year, fans are raring to see just how much more success can be taken away by these budding stars.
The second edition of the international competition is sure to offer an even more thrilling experience than the first, as these countries – and potentially more – come together to test their skills and participate with enthusiasm. Beyond Iran, Kenya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Srilanka, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Iraq, Malaysia, Thailand and Azerbaijan who participated in the initial edition of this renowned contest, Turkmenistan is also joining the party for round two. Moreover, crowd favourites such as India and Georgia are linking up to create strong competition from different regions of the world. Without a doubt we’ll be kept on our toes for this upcoming event.
The 2nd Junior World Kabaddi Championship is quickly approaching and the Sri Lanka Kabaddi Federation have had to choose their team carefully, selecting only the strongest and most skilled players to take part. With Malaka as captain and the 11 other chosen players – Praveen, Ivan, Ansaf, Sulara, Rusith, Assam, Kirushan, Teshan, Prasad, Simak and Tharidu – all having trained hard in the camp in their own countries, we can be sure that Sri Lanka has put together a strong team for this highly anticipated competition. We wish them every success!
