ITS BACK

The 2011 KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships will be back in February next year.

Initial preparatory work to host the tournament is now under way. The third edition of the tournament is expected to be the biggest to date.

Many foreign and local teams have shown great interest in being part of the ever growing championships.

At least half a dozen foreign teams have already confirmed their participation in the championships although we have yet to issue any circulars.

According to the early feedback, we may play host to at least 20 teams in the men's competition and at least six in the women's competition.

Several new teams from other Asian countries have also indicated their interest in participating in the championships.

The official invitations are expected to be send out within days.

The Kuala Lumpur kabaddi teams have already started training for the championships. For the record the KL men's team finished runners-up at the last two editions.

Chennai - Masters of the Cities

Hosts Kuala Lumpur were forced to play the bridesmaid role for the second consecutive time at the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships.

Kuala Lumpur, who were beaten in the final by Patialla at the last championships, succumbed 14-21 to a superior Chennai side in the final at the Stadium Titiwangsa.

Kuala Lumpur had qualified for the final after a hard earned victory over Patialla while Chennai romped past Oslo for their place in the final.

The final between Chennai and Kuala Lumpur turned out to be a classic final although for the first half it went all Chennai’s way.

The technically superior Chennai side controlled the pace of the game and led 14-2 against the young Kuala Lumpur side.

Chennai chose to play a more passive role in the second half and the strategy almost saw a resurgent Kuala Lumpur making an unlikely comeback.

Kuala Lumpur came within four points of the Chennai side only to see their comeback snuffed out by the Indian side.

Chennai made a clean sweep of the individual awards with Karnan taking home the Best Defender and Best Player Awards. Another Chennai player, Sundara Moorthy won the
Best Raider Award deservingly for his quick raiding skills.

Patialla won third place by default over Oslo.

In the women’s competition, Jagatpura strolled to a 56-26 win over Oslo in the final.

Jagatpura’s Anurani and Jasbeer Kaur won the Best Defender and Best Player Awards while Oslo’s Anurani was adjudged as the Best Raider.

Kuala Lumpur won third spot while Putrajaya were fourth.

Deputy Foreign Minister YB Senator A.Kohillan Pillay gave away the prizes to the winners.

Click here to view pictures from the final day of competition.

Champions dethroned

Chennai and hosts Kuala Lumpur booked their final date in the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships in contrasting styles at the Stadium Titiwangsa.

Chennai showed technical superiority to subdue Oslo in their semi-finals while Kuala made heavy weather of their match against Patialla.

Both teams qualified for the semi-finals after topping their respective groups unbeaten.

Chennai thoroughly deserved their spot on the final, but their win was marred by some poor sportsmanship on the part of their rivals.

Oslo walked out of the game with just two minutes remaining on the clock, despite having no chance whatsoever to win the game.

They were trailing Chennai by more six points at that stage and much to the dismay of all, disputed a call made against them by the match officials and walked out of their match.

Their action came with a heavy price as Oslo would be unable to play in the playoff for third place after having conceded a walkover. Chennai were leading 26-19 when the dispute happened.

In the other semi-finals, Kuala Lumpur left it until the closing stages to steal the game away from defending champions Patialla.

It was the reverse of what transpired in the final of the last edition of the championships, with Kuala Lumpur suffering defeat after conceding valuable points at the closing stages.

This time it was the turn of Patialla to suffer the fate. They led by as much as five points in the game and looked poised to qualify for the final.

But KL kept their composure and tied the game at 20-20 after their raider K. Siva put out three players from the Patialla side to clinch a lona.

The tide quickly changed towards Kuala Lumpur, who picked up three more consecutive points to walk away winners.

In the women’s competition, Jagatpura have made it to the finals.
Their final opponent would be decided after the match between Oslo and Kuala Lumpur.

The women’s final would be played at 5pm on Sunday followed by the men’s final.

Hosts and Chennai in last four

Hosts Kuala Lumpur (picture) and Chennai became the first two teams to qualify for the semi-finals of the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships at the Stadium Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur.

But it was the performance of the young KL Presidents squad that captured the hearts of everyone. The youngsters, comprising of the city’s junior players, stunned the more experienced New Delhi side 42-37 in their opening Group B match.

Delhi were caught off guard by the aggressiveness of the KL Presidents squad and trailed by as many as a dozen points after conceding a lona in the early stages of the game.

Delhi recovered to tie the score at 34-34 in the second half with a more intelligent play but their recovery was quickly snuffed out by the more enterprising KL Presidents.

It was a good day for host Kuala Lumpur as they too displayed tight defense and great offensive play to pack off pre-tournament favourites Oslo.

Kuala Lumpur won the game 39-29 with a bewildered Oslo stunned by their performance.
It was match worthy of note with both teams displaying a high level of technical game.

However, it was Kuala Lumpur’s tighter defence that saw them through.

The Kuala Lumpur side defeated teammates KL Presidents 36-32 in their second game to ensure their semi-final berth from Group B.

Oslo recovered from their opening loss to thrash New Delhi 47-14. The winner of the match between Oslo and KL Presidents will join Kuala Lumpur in the last four.

In Group A, Chennai displayed excellent teamwork to beat defending champions Patialla 39-25 in Group A.

Patialla were let down by their poor defence and paid the price in the costly loss.
Patialla beat Kapurthala 36-17 in their second match but they would need to beat
Putrajaya in their final match to qualify for the semi-finals.

Putrajaya loss both their matches today. They were beaten 38-28 in their opening match and put up a much better performance in their 27-34 loss to Chennai.

With Kapurthala expected to lose to Chennai, the team that would accompany the latter into the last four could go into a countback if Patialla fails to beat Putrajaya.

A win for Putrajaya would mean that they would have a record of two loss and one win the Group, the same as Patialla and Kapurthala.

In the womens’s competition, New Delhi were forced to withdraw on technical grounds. Both Oslo and Kuala Lumpur started off their campaign in the competition with 113-19 and 55-17 wins respectively over Putrajaya.

Click here to view pictures from Day One.

Teams arrive

Foreign teams have started arriving for the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships to be held at the Stadium Titiwangsa from March 5-7.

Chennai, Oslo and Jagatpura arrived early today morning with Karpathula expected to arrive around 1.30pm.

More teams are expected to arrive tomorrow. The weight check, technical briefing and managers meeting would be held tomorrow late evening.

KLIICKC Schedule

The Match Schedule for the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships has been confirmed.

To view the schedule please click here.

HOSTS IN GROUP OF DEATH

Hosts Kuala Lumpur are faced in a daunting task of making it to the quarter-finals of the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships from March 5-7 at the Stadium Titiwangsa.

The KL side have been drawn in the same group with Chennai and Mumbai in Group D of the competition. Although the top two teams in the group qualify for the last eight, it would still be an herculean task for the local side.

At the last championships in 2008, the KL side gave a stunning performance to finish runners-up to the Indian city team from Patialla.

Enroute to the final they had beaten Sri Lanka’s Colombo and would be hoping to hit similar form in the competition this year. The KL side for the competition this year would be missing a couple of key players from 2008 but are still expected to be competitive.

In Group A, Colombo are expected to qualify for the last eight together with India’s Kaparthula. The KL Presidents XII are not expected to pose much threat to either team. The KL Presidents XII comprise of junior Under-19 players out to gain experience at the championships.

Group B comprises of New Delhi, Nepal’s Katmandu and the sole European representatives Oslo. Delhi are expected to be a much stronger side that the team that finished fourth at the last championships.

The Oslo team comprises of non-residential Indian residents and are also expected to be a strong contender.

Defending champions Patialla are in Group C with Putrajaya and India’s Vijayawada. Putrajaya are also expected to be competitive and have a fighting chance of making it through to the last eight.

In the women’s competition, Kuala Lumpur are in Group X with Oslo and Jagtpura while Group Y comprises of Putrajaya, Colombo and New Delhi.

Both the local teams are much stronger that they were two years ago and would be looking to do well at the championships.
Speaking at the Draw Ceremony, Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur president S.T. Arasu said that the championships would be perhaps one of the biggest tournaments in the sport in recent years.

“The number of participating international teams far surpass any recent international competitions anywhere and you can expect some great matches,” said Arasu.

He added that the tournament would also serve as a exposure ground for the Federal Territory Sukma players.

“We are gunning for a double gold at the Sukma in Melaka in June and the high level competition here would be valuable experience for the players,” he said.



THE GROUPINGS

MEN
GROUP A: COLOMBO, KL PRESIDENTS XII, KAPURTHALA
GROUP B: NEW DELHI, KATMANDU, OSLO
GROUP C: PATTIALA, PUTRAJAYA, VIJAYAWADA
GROUP D: KUALA LUMPUR, MUMBAI, CHENNAI

WOMEN
GROUP X: KUALA LUMPUR, OSLO, JAGATPURA
GROUP Y: PUTRAJAYA, COLOMBO, NEW DELHI

Kabaddi Presentation

For those of you who missed out on the KAKL Kabaddi presentation during our annual dinner, here is a youtube version.

An invitation to everyone

Get set for the draw

The official draw ceremony of the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships would be held on Thursday February 25th, 2010 at the Function Room, Lotus Restaurant in state Petaling Jaya.

The 12 teams in the men's competition would be divided into four groups while the six teams in the women's competition would be divided into two groups.

The top two teams in each group would qualify for the knockout stages during the competition from March 5-7 at the Stadium Titiwangsa.

Deputy Foreign Minister YB Senator Kohilan Pillay, who is the patron of the championships, would be the guest of honour at the draw ceremony.

Colombo back for another atempt

Brigadier E M M Ambanpola giving away the prizes at the last championships in 2008.

Sri Lanka's Colombo will be the final addition to the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships to be held at the Stadium Titiwangsa from March 5-7.

Team delegation leader Brigadier E M M Ambanpola confirmed the entry of both their men and women's teams for the championships yesterday.

With the entry of Sri Lanka, there would representation of city teams from five different countries at the championships.

New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kapurthala, Vijayawada and Patialla are the city teams from India playing at the tournament.

Nepal would be represented by Katmandu while Oslo would represent Norway.

The local representation are Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

Colombo were edged out by Kuala Lumpur in the men's semi-finals at the last championships and would be looking forward to avenge the defeat and perhaps win the title this time around.

Their women were runners-up to Patialla two yeas ago.

The draw for the championships would be made after the closing date of February 15.

And Faridabad makes it a dozen

Faridabad is the last confirmed foreign team for the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships to be held at the Stadium Titiwangsa from March 5-7.

Team coordinator Uma Shankar Vashisht made a eleventh hour appeal for the teams inclusion and the entry was accepted.


Uma Shankar Vashisht (extreme left with KAKL's S.T. Arasu and WKF president Dorji Lama (centre) at the International Kabaddi League in Lumbhini, Nepal.

With the confirmation of the Faridabad team, the number of teams in the men's competition would be 12.

The other foreign teams coming for the championships are Chennai, Vijayawada, Mumbai, Patialla, Kapurthala, Katmandu, Oslo and New Delhi.

The local challenge at the championships would come from Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The final team would be the KL Development team.

KL International officially launched

Hosts Kuala Lumpur need to be at their best if they harbor any hopes of making the final of the second KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships, at the Stadium Titiwangsa from 5-7 March.

The KL side came within a whisker of winning the inaugural title two years ago but will have to contend with a stronger field for this year’s edition.

The KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships was to have been officially launched by Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A Kohilan Pillay today but he had to attend to some urgent government matters.

FT Sports Council's Kenneth Alberqueque launched the tournament instead.

The tournament is an unique competition catering for teams representing various cities.

Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya teams would spearhead the Malaysian challenge at the championships.

Two years ago, Kuala Lumpur stunned a star studded Colombo squad in the semi-finals. The Colombo squad included five internationals and were strong favourites for the crown.

Colombo have yet to confirm their entry this year but defending champions Patialla of Punjab are sure starters.

Punjab are among several Indian cities that have confirmed their participation in the tournament. The others include New Delhi, Kapurthala, Chennai, Mumbai and Vijayawada.

Also in the fray is the Katmandu city team from Nepal. Norway’s Oslo, made up of Indian expatriates, is the other team that has confirmed their participation.

Malaysia will also have its own expatriate team in the competition. The KL expatriate team, made up of Indian workers would be making their debut at the championships.

The men’s competition is expected to see a minimum of ten teams while the women’s competition would see a minimum of four teams.

“We had interests from a number of other teams from other countries but they were unable to raise the funds needed to come here,” said KAKL president S.T. Arasu.

He added the tournament would help the city SUKMA squads in their preparation for the biennial event in Melaka this year.

KL are confident of winning both gold medals at stake in Melaka for the SUKMA. The KL men won the gold at the last SUKMA in Terengganu where kabaddi was a demonstration sport.

“All the players in the SUKMA training squad would play at the International Inter City Championships and the strong opposition would help them with their own game,” said Arasu.

The KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships is supported by the KL City Hall, the Federal Territory Sports Department and the Federal Territory Sports Council.

Figos and 100 Plus are among the sponsors.

Oslo NRIs to field team

There will be an European representation, at least by name, at the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships.

Non Resident Indians (NRI) of the Norwegian city would be fielding teams in both the men's and women's competition.

Team manager Dr Sukhdarshan Chahal said that they were looking forward to play in Kuala Lumpur.

The team also took part at the International Kabaddi League (IKL) in Lumbhini Nepal last year and would be a team to reckon.

Chahal said that they were finalising the arrangements for the teams departure to Malaysia and are looking to give their best.

Apart from Oslo, the other teams confirmed for the championships are Katmandu, Patialla, Vijayawada and New Delhi.

Test Matches

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would finalise the state teams for the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships on Wednesday night.

The men and women squads would be named based on a series of test matches to be played on Wednesday from 7.00pm at the Sri Devi Kabaddi Grounds in Puchong.

KAKL will enter a minimum of two teams each in the men's and women's categories.

All players interested in making the squads are requested to report for the test matches at the venue by 7.00pm. All players are also requested to bring along a passport size photograph.

Victorious debut?

The city of Vijayawada would be making their debut at the International Inter City Kabaddi Championships at the Stadium Titiwangsa from March 5-7.

Vijayawada literally means Place of Victory and the team is gunning for the crown in the men's competition.

Asian Beach Kabaddi Federation (ABKF) secretary K.P. Rao said that the city team from Andhra Pradesh would comprise of senior players.

"The team is made up of experienced players as we want to do well at the tournament," said Rao.

Vijawada joins a growing list of teams for the championships. The other confirmed foreign teams are Katmandu, New Delhi and defending champions Patialla.

Meanwhile, the official launch of the IICKC would take place on February 10th.

Patialla to defend crown

All India Circle Kabaddi Federation secretary Ved Sharma has confirmed that defending champions Patialla of Punjab would be back to defend the International Inter City Kabaddi Championships from 5-7th March, 2010.

Patialla grabbed a double at the inaugural championships in 2009. Their men's team defeated Kuala Lumpur in a keenly fought final and would be the team to watch at the championships.

While the Patialla team is expected to miss some of their players from the last championships, they are expected to bring in some new but equally experienced faces.

The other confirmed teams for the championships are Katmandu and New Delhi.

It will be the first appearance for Katmandu while Delhi played at the last championships.

Katmandu confirms

More teams have confirmed their participation at the 2nd KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships from March 5-7.

But to keep up the excitement, we will release the team names one at a time.

Today, we are happy to confirm the participation of the team from Katmandu. It would be the first appearance of a Nepali team in a competition in Malaysia.

It would also be a Nepali teams first appearance in any competition, outside the South Asian region.

Naresh Gautham, who has been a prime mover for kabaddi in Nepal, confirmed that the men's team from Katmandu was all set to make the trip to Kuala Lumpur.

We will announce the name of yet another team tomorrow. So stay tuned for more details.

Delhi first to officially confirm

The Delhi team is the first to officially confirm their participation at this year's International Inter City Kabaddi Championships at the Stadium Titiwangsa from March 5-7.

While many teams have indicated verbally of their intentions to take part, the New Delhi team is the first to send in their entry before the closing date on February 1.

New Delhi, which fielded only the men team at the inaugural championships, will field both the men and women team this time.

New Delhi team manager Hansraj Singh said that the team was looking forward to play at the tournament.

"We are all excited about coming to play in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

The Delhi team failed to shine in 2008, finishing last in the competition. But they are expected to come with a much stronger team for this years championships.

The KAKL expects the rest of the teams to submit their official entries before the end of January.

For the men's competition, KAKL also expects teams from Chennai, Patialla, Katmandu, Faridabad, Amristar, Oslo, Taipei, Colombo and Kashmir. We are expected to field teams from Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya and at least one other local team.

For the women's competition, teams expected to play apart from New Delhi are Patialla, Faridabad, Oslo, Colombo as well as Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

The championships is being held with the support from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Federal Territory Sports Council and the Sports Ministries Federal Territory Department.

Deputy Foreign Minister YB Senator Tuan Kohilan Pillay is the patron of the event.

Tough competition

Early indication are that the 2010 International Inter City Kabaddi Championships to be held at the Stadium Titiwangsa from March 4-8 would see a stronger international line-up.

The first edition of the tournament in 2008 saw a total of three foreign teams each in the mens and womens competitions.

This year, teams from New Delhi, Faridabad, Katmandu, Chennai and an European team from Norway have indicated their intention to send their teams to KL. There will also be a second team from Nepal and a Kashmirian team.

We have also received interest from Colombo as well as a team from Chinese Taipei.

We are expecting defending champions Patialla to also confirm their entry.

KAKL are expected to field teams from Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya in the tournament. We have also received a couple of positive response from a couple other Malaysian cities.

The entries closes on February 1 while entries by name must be made by February 15.

The strong response to the tournament would certainly make the second edition of the International Inter City Kabaddi Championships a kabaddi spectacle.

Meanwhile, the KL and Putrajaya teams would go into intensive training sessions from next week. A team briefing has been scheduled for tomorrow at the Padang Timur at 2.30pm.