Four players called up

The Federal Territory men's and women's team failed to garner any medals at the SUKMA in Melaka but it was not all a loss for the side.

Two men and two women players have been called up for the national training squad to the Asian Games in Guangzhou by national coach Baskaran.

The four are Rajaruban and Karthik in the men's and Gomatthi and Yoba for the women.

KAKL would like to congratulate the quartet and wish them the best of luck.

SUKMA LINK

We have created a dedicated site for news on the Federal Territory kabaddi squads participation at the SUKMA MELAKA 2010.

The site is http://kabaddisukma2010.blogspot.com/.

You can also click on the SUKMA Maskot on the right of this website to be linked to the site.

TEAM FINALISED

Chief coach R. Balamurugan guiding the women's Sukma training squad

Assistant coach S. Balakrishnan raiding against the FT training squad.

The final list of the players selected for the SUKMA to represent the Federal Territory Team was announced by the KAKL president S.T. Arasu after the teams' final training session on Sunday at the Kampong Pandan Sports Complex.

The 20 strong FT squad will leave for Melaka on Wednesday with the hopes of striking gold.

The team would be headed by team manager L. Anbarasu and assisted by Mogan Kumar Raju.

The Chief coach of the team is Balamurugan Rengasami Naidu who would be assisted by S. Balakrishnan and K. Siva.

We will update the team progress during the SUKMA on this website daily from June 10, 2010. We will try to upload match reports, photographs and if possible video clippings of the team in action.

FT men to take on Sarawak

The Federal Territory kabaddi men's team will open accounts at the SUKMA in Melaka on June 11 against Sarawak.

The state women's team will have a tough opener against neighbours Selangor in their opening match on the same day.


FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE CLICK HERE

FT kabaddi squad get chance to enter record books

The following is the article that came out in The Star today



KABADDI will make its debut as a medal sport in Sukma and Federal Territory (FT) aim to become the inaugural champions.

The FT men picked up the gold when kabaddi was introduced as a demonstration sport at the last Games in Terengganu two years ago.

This time, FT want to return home with not only the men’s champions but also the winners of the women’s competition.
Victorious: The FT’s kabaddi team emerged champions in Terengganu when it was a demonstration sport two years ago.

Despite missing several first-choice players, the city team believe that they have the depth to take on their rivals.

Three players who were members of the teams for the Games in Terengganu are expected to be named in the final men’s squad. They are P. Dharmendra, C. Vinod and B. Kartigeyan.

“The rest will be making their debut in Sukma but that is not a major setback for us,” said coach R. Balamurugan, who captained the Malaysian team to the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

He said that all the players featured in the KL International Inter-City Championships (IICKC) in March, representing Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

“The experience of playing against top foreign players in March will come in handy,” said Balamurugan, who had also coached the national women’s team to the Asian championships two year ago.

The team from Kuala Lumpur finished runners-up to Chennai at the IICKC.

“We have a strong all-round team with a balanced offensive and defensive game. If they play their normal game, they will be a difficult team to beat,” said Balamurugan.

However, he was cautious of the other teams, especially Negri Sembilan and Selangor, who have also been undergoing intensive training for the Games.

Based on recent performance, FT, Negri and Selangor are strong contenders for the men’s title but they have been drawn in the same group.

■ MEN

Group A: Pahang, Terengganu, N. Sembilan, Selangor, Sarawak, F. Territory.

Group B: Perlis, Penang, Johor, Perak, Kedah, Malacca.

■ WOMEN

Group A: Sarawak, Perak, N. Sembilan, Perlis, Johor, Malacca.

Group B: Federal Territory, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Pahang.

SUKMA test match

The Federal Territory kabaddi squads will play test matches this Friday at the Sri Devi Grounds as part of their final preparations for the Sukan Malaysia.

The men's team will play against the Sri Devi Club selection while the women's team will play against a KL selection squad.

Matches are scheduled to start at approximately 4.30pm.

SUKMA Draw

Defending champions Federal Territory are in the tougher of the two groups for the men's kabaddi competition but are still expected to qualify for the semi-finals at the SUKMA in Melaka in June.

FT men won the kabaddi competition at the Terengganu Sukma two years ago, when the sport was included as a demonstration sport.

The team has been drawn in Group A together with Pahang, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Sarawak.

With the exception of Negri Sembilan and Selangor, the other teams in the group are not expected to pose any threat to FT.

FT have targeted the gold in the men's competition and should qualify for the knockout stages.

Perak are expected to top Group B, which includes Perlis, Penang, Johor, Kedah and Melaka. Kedah or Penang are likely to join Perak in the last four from the group.

Like the men, FT has also been drawn in the tougher group in the women's competition.
The team has for company Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Pahang in Group B. FT's biggest threat in the group would be Selangor and Kedah.

Group A comprises of Sarawak, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Johor and Melaka.

FT have also targeted the gold in the women's competition.

The FT teams for SUKMA are curently in training under chief coach R. Balamurugan.

MEN
GROUP A: Pahang, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Sarawak, Federal Territory
GROUP B: Perlis, Penang, Johor, Perak, Kedah, Melaka

WOMEN
GROUP A: Sarawak, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Johor, Melaka
GROUP B: Federal Territory, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Pahang

Building the Bridge

Kuala Lumpur officials successfully conducted a one and a half day training camp for the Penang Sukma kabaddi team.

KAKL chief coach R. Balamurugan together with KAKL president S.T. Arasu were at hand at the Majlis Sukan Negeri Pulau Pinang centre in Glugor to conduct the camp.

Approximately 30 players from Penang attended the camp aimed at equipping the Penang players in preparation for the Sukma in Melaka in June.

The camp is the first step in building and fostering better relationship between the two state.

On Saturday, Kuala Lumpur would send their men and women selection teams to Penang to play friendly matches at the MSN Pulau Pinang.

For more pictures from the training camp, click here.

A helping hand for Penang

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) has agreed to assist their Penang counterparts in the preparation of their state teams for the SUKMA.

The decision was made following a discussion between the Penang president J. Dhinagaran and KAKL president S.T. Arasu on Friday.

KL chief coach R. Balamurugan would conduct a two day training session for the Penang state players later this week in Penang as part of the fellowship programme.

Balamurugan is expected to also guide the Penang state coaches in charting out a proper training programme geared towards the SUKMA.

The Federal Territory state SUKMA teams are also expected to make a trip down to Penang later next month to play a series of friendly matches with the Penang SUKMA squads.

KAKL is committed to helping other state teams that need assistance.

A couple of weeks ago, the Negri Sembilan SUKMA squad also played in the KL-Kutrallam Friendship Tournament as part of their training programme.

Fright for Chennai

Newly crowned KL International Inter City Kabaddi Champions Chennai were lucky to walk away 29-27 winners over Sri Devi Dragons in the final of the KL-Kuttralam Friendly Kabaddi Championships at the Sri Devi Grounds early today morning.

Chennai sorely missed the services of their star player Karnan and were given a fright by the Dragons in a highly entertaining final.

The absence of Karnan, who had already left for India, and the relaxation of weight category for the competition, saw Chennai being forced to backpedal in their final match.

Chennai led 15-13 after the first half but always found the going tough against the strong defensive performance by the Dragons.

Dragons even took the lead in the second half but crucial mistakes saw Chennai pulling ahead by as many as five points at one stage.

A crucial mistake in the closing stages when the Dragons squandered a golden chance to pick a lona off the Chennai side paid put to their chances.

Earlier in the group matches, Chennai topped their group with comfortable wins over Sri Devi Tigers and Selayang.

The Dragons also topped their group with solid victories over Seremban and Kg Pandan.

In the battle for third place, Selayang defeated Seremban 26-19.

The tournament turned out to be valuable playing experience for players, especially the SUKMA players from both Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan.

The championships finished around 2.30am but for the strong supporters who had stayed back to witness the matches, it was a kabaddi feast worth waiting till the wee hours of the morning.

The executive committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to thank the Chennai team for their participation in the tournament.


RESULTS
GROUP A: Chennai bt Sri Devi Tigers 34-10; Selayang bt Sri Devi Tigers 37-16; Chennai bt Selayang 32-8
GROUP B: Sri Devi Dragons bt Seremban 32-11; Seremban bt Kg Pandan 29-21; Sri Devi Dragons bt Kg Pandan 31-14
Third Placings: Selayang bt Seremban 26-19
Final: Chennai bt Sri Devi Dragons 29-27

Click here to view more pictures from the tournament.

Ishwar to lend golden touch

Former national coach Dr Ishwar Angadi is being sought by the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) to fine tune the Federal Territory SUKMA kabaddi team.

With winning both the gold medals at stake firmly in mind, KAKL hopes that Dr Ishwar's expertise would give the side the golden edge.

KAKL president S.T. Arasu said that he had already discussed the matter with Dr Ishwar.

"Ishwar is more than happy to assist the team. However, there is still the matter of getting the necessary paperwork to be done," said Arasu.

Dr Ishwar is attached with the Sports Authority of India (SAI). He coached the Malaysian side to the Busan Asian Games as well as the Asian Championships in 2003.

He is a close personal friend of the KAKL president. Arasu was the team manager to the Busan Asian Games and was personally responsible in hiring Dr Ishwar to coach in Malaysia.

Both of them were also responsible in rewriting the kabaddi rules, currently being used at the world level. The duo also worked hand-in-hand to come out with the Level One Coaching Manual.

"I will discuss the matter further with the SAI regional director Mr Ranawat. The director has always been helpful in the past and I do not see any major problems in getting Ishwar released from his duties to coach the SUKMA team," said Arasu.

If everything goes as planned, Ishwar would arrive here in mid May to handle the team.

The states chief coach R. Balamurugan has worked before with Dr Ishwar, both as a player and as an assistant coach.

"We believe that Ishwar's presence here would be a great boost to the state team. The players would certainly gain a lot from him," said Arasu.

He added, although Dr Ishwar's release may take a month or so to cement, his name has been submitted to the Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan to be registered as a coach of the team.

SUKMA preparations

Sukma team managers, L. Anbarasu (men) and Mogan Kumar Raju (women) are attending the Federal Territory Sukma team managers meeting with the director of the Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan (MSWP) today in Putrajaya.

The meeting has been called with the team managers of all sports to discuss in detail the training program and also to fine tune the team preparations towards the Sukma.

The FT kabaddi Sukma coaches and managers would also attend a three day camp in Langkawi from February 6-8. With the chief coach, R. Balamurugan unable to attend the camp in Langkawi, assistant coach K. Siva will attend the camp together with the managers.

The FT Kabaddi teams are preparing well for the Sukma and are confident of winning both the titles in Melaka this June.

New Photo Website

We have created a new photo website as our previous digest is already 99% full. The new photo site is http://picasaweb.google.com/klkabaddi2

The old site would still be accessible.

We have uploaded some pictures from Sukma 2008, IICKC 2008 and Faridabad 2008, which we managed to find from our archives.

Here are also some videos we managed to trace from Sukma and also the International Inter City in 2008

KL ready to defend title

The 2010 SUKMA in Melaka will feature 34 sports after nine more sports were approved by the SUKMA Supreme Council that met on Thursday.

The meeting which was chaired by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek today included formula future, canoe, golf, rugby 7s, volleyball (beach and indoor), kabaddi, judo, fencing, synchronized swimming and water polo to the list of 18 compulsory sports and seven of the host's choice.

The inclusion of kabaddi at the Games means that Kuala Lumpur would have a chance to defend the gold medal we won at the last Games in Terengganu.

In Terengganu, kabaddi was only a demonstration sport and KL cemented their position as the best state team.

Next years SUKMA would be held from June 10-19.

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would start their preparation for the games after discussing the training programme with the relevant authorities including the Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan and also the Jabatan Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan.

KAKL is confident of retaining the gold medal as most of the city players have been in constant training and playing in regular competition.

No Kabaddi in Sukma

The SUKMA supreme council, in their meeting today has decided that there would be no new additions to the number of sports at the Games in Melaka in 2010.

This would mean that kabaddi would have to sit out of the Games once again. Kuala Lumpur emerged as the champions at this years edition of the Sukma in Kuala Terengganu where kabaddi was a demonstration sport.

It looks like the best that kabaddi can get in Melaka is another demonstration status.

The question now is whether the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia president Datuk Shahidan Kassim was going to remain. He had said that he would reconsider his position if kabaddi was not included as a competitive sport at the Melaka SUKMA.

The Sukma gold medal winning kabaddi squad received cash incentive from the Federal Territory Sports Council for their effort.

KL, the Presidents Cup champions, defeated Kedah in the final to walk away with the gold medal at the Sukma in Terengganu. Kabaddi was a demonstration sport at the Games.

Each player of the winning team was rewarded with RM1,000 by the Council