THE CROWN IS UP FOR GRABS

Eighteen teams including top ranked Sri Devi Dragons have thrown down the gauntlet to be crowned the Kings of Kabaddi this Sunday.

The Arasai (ASC) Kings of Kabaddi knockout kabaddi tournament will see top teams from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Penang battling it out at the DBKL Badminton Hall in Brickfields on July 12.

The Kuala Lumpur based Dragons, who have been a dominant force in club level competitions in Malaysia for the past three years, have been seeded first ahead of Selangor’s Selayang A.

Both the Dragons and the Selayang are also the forerunners of the ongoing Premier League Kabaddi championships.

With a strong line-up of teams, both Dragons and Selayang A would have their work cut out for them in their cahse for the title.

The Dragons have been drawn to meet Arasai (ASC) in the quarter-finals. Arasai, fielding a couple of foreign players, is expected to stretch the Dragons.

If they do get past Arasai, the Dragons would come up against either joint third seeds Bukit Pelandok or a resurgent Kg Pandan Lions.

The Lions had stretched the Dragons in the semi-finals of the FT Traditional Sports Carnival earlier last month.

Bukit Pelandok, also strengthened by a couple of Indian expatriate players, stunned the Dragons at the NS Open final last month.

As for Selayang A, their first test would come against Tamillans in the quarter-finals. Their semi-final opponent is expected to be either the Indian team of Pasum Ponn or Sri Devi Tigers.

The Arasai (ASC) Kings of Kabaddi is in line with the KAKL’s desire to promote and develop the game through grassroot competitions.

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) has already entrenched itself as the leading kabaddi tournament organisers in the country. This year alone the KAKL has already hosted the City Day Kabaddi Championships, the Grasscourt Kabaddi Challenge, Sri Devi Night Kabaddi, Rakan Muda Kabaddi Challenge and the ongoing KAKL Knockout Cup.

These are in addition to the Premier League Kabaddi championships which started on March 1 and is expected to conclude on October 18.

The winners of the tournament would walk away with RM 1,500 in prize money while the runners-up will take RM 1,000. The third and fourth placed teams would win RM 700 and RM 400 respectively.

To add colour to the tournament, the KAKL has decided to conduct an invitational women’s competition. The three women’s teams confirmed for the tourney are Sri Devi Princess, Sri Manjari and Segar.

DOWNLOAD THE DRAW FOR THE KINGS OF KABADDI HERE