CONDOLENCES

The executive committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family of the late Mr Govindasamy.

Govinda, as he was more popularly, known has been an integral part of the association since its inception.

He would be sorely missed by all of us.

The funeral is expected to take place on Friday from Kg Panda.

MOVING

We are moving to our new website from January 1, 2011. The new website is currently under construction and we hope to continue disseminating news on kabaddi more comprehensively.

Please log on to www.kabaddi,my from January 1, to get your latest news on kabaddi.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

The Executive Committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to extend our Best Christmas Wishes to everyone.

KG PANDAN CROWNED

Kg Pandan Kabaddi Club won the inaugural Datuk G Palanivel Cup kabaddi championships held at the Kg Pandan Grounds here today.

Teams from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negri Sembilan took part in the competition organised by the MIC Kg Pandan.

Kg Pandan played a patient and disciplined game to hand Sri Devi a 23-15 defeat in the final.

Both teams were locked in a close battle in the first half, with Kg Pandan taking a slim 10-9 lead at the end of the first half.

But Kg Pandan played a strong defensive game in the second to outplay their rivals.

Earlier in the semi-finals, Kg Pandan defeated Sandeeyar while Sri Devi edged out Pasum Ponn.

Selangor State MIC Youth Chairman Shanker Raj Ayengar gave away the prizes to the winners.

To view more pictures from the tournament, CLICK HERE.

ASIAN BEACH GAMES KABADDI RESULTS

The first day results for the Asian Beach Games kabaddi competition held in Muscat, Oman. Click on the image to view.

NSC'S REPORT CARD

This is the National Sports Council's Report Card on the sports that took part in the Guangzhou Asian Games. It was carried in most leading local newspapers.

Excellent: Diving, cycling, wushu, men’s hockey, badminton, equestrian.

Satisfactory: Sailing, shooting, billiards and snooker, swimming, beach volleyball, football, rugby, sepaktakraw.

Under-achievers: Archery, athletics, women’s hockey, boxing, fencing, gymnastics, taekwondo, table tennis.

Should have stayed out: Golf, cricket, kabbadi, chess, xiangqi, weiqi, triathlon.

ASIAN GAMES TABLE

No repeat

Malaysia failed to repeat their exploits of the 2002 Busan Asian Games when their men's team crashed to a 17-48 defeat to Japan in their last group match.

Japan qualified for the semi-finals for the first time with the win.

In 2002, Japan were in a similar position, needing a win to qualify for the medal playoff. However, Malaysia stunned the Japanese squad for their first win at the Asian Games.

However there were no such fairytale ending for the Malaysian side this time around.

Two lonas in the first half, saw Japan leading 26-7 at the break. In 2002 the score at first half between the two teams was 0-0.

Japan picked up two more lonas to wrap up the match and put themselves in contention for a medal. They will face India in the semi-finals.

Outclassed

Malaysian ended their campaign in the women's kabaddi competition at the Guangzhou Asian Games without a win.

Iran slumped the Malaysian girls to their third successive defeat with an impressive


Within minutes of the start of the first half, Malaysia conceded a lona without gaining any points of their own.

Iranian raiders were also breaching the Malaysian defence to gain additional bonus points and Malaysia were left backpedalling the entire half.

Malaysia conceded yet another lona in the half, and Iran stretched their lead at halftime to 35-5.

Iran piled on the misery for Malaysia with another lona in the early stages of the second half and moved ahead 42-5.

Iran continued their relentless attacking and notched up three more lonas in the half and romped home in style 73-10.

It was the biggest margin of win in the competition for any team in the competition.

Taiwan lesson

Malaysia suffered an embarassing .....defeat to newcomers Chinese Taipei in the women's kabaddi competition at the Guangzhou Asiad.

The defeat almost certainly destines Malaysia to last spot in Group A of the competition. Malaysia plays group favourites Iran in their final group match.

Chinese Taipei stunned the Malaysians with their quick play in the first half and claimed two lonas.

They led 30-14 at the breather and continued the same pace in the second half. Thailand claimed yet another lona in the late stages of the game and wrapped up a well deserved 48-33 victory.

Good try!

Malaysia were beaten once again in the men's kabaddi competition. This time thay were beaten by Bangladesh 38-48.

It was a match that could have gone Malaysia's way if the team had taken their chances well. In the end it was experience that paid put to Malaysia's chances.

It was a close match in the early stages with both teams trading blows. Malaysia even led 7-6 at one stage.

However, Bangladesh regrouped and quickly snatched back the lead at 9-8. A quick lona followed and Bangladesh established their dominance taking a 17-10 lead.

The maintained their lead over the Malaysian until halftime, going 26-17 into the break.

Malaysia came back strongly in the second half and had the Bangladesh team struggling to find their rhythm.

The Malaysian side whittled down the deficit to come within three points, trailing 29-32.

But defensive errors allowed Bangladesh to gain another lona and stretch their lead to six points.

Bangladesh hung on to notch their first win in the competition and pushing Malaysia out of medal contention.

In another match, defending champions India strolled pass Iran 40-24.

Pakistan beat Malaysia

Pakistan trumped Malaysia 51-27 in the men's kabaddi competition at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.

Two lonas in the first half and another in the second was enough to see Pakistani getting off to a winning start in the competition.

Pakistan led 29-11 in the first half.

The defeat was expected and the Malaysians must win their next two matches to be in the medal run.

In another Group B match, Japan stunned Bangladesh 15-13.

In the three team Group A competition, Iran eased pass Korea 55-20. With the win, Iran is likely to join India in the semi-finals from the group.

Losing Start

The Malaysian women got off to a losing start to their Asian Games campaign in Guangzhou. They were beaten by a technically superior Thailand 19-45 in their Group A match.

The defeat, almost certainly puts Malaysia out of contention for a medal in the competition. Thailand are expected to qualify for the semi-finals together with group favourites Iran.

Malaysia are not expected to beat Iran but will need to beat Taiwan to avoid being the wooden spoonist.

Group B of the competition comprises of favourites India, Bangladesh and Korea. The fourth team in the group, Nepal, were withdrawn from the competition by their Sports Ministry.

In the match against Thailand, Malaysia's inexperience caused them the match. The match was lost in the first half itself when the Malaysian girls conceded two lonas to their rivals. Despite early resistance, the Malaysians gave away points too easily and trailed 9-33 in the first half.

The second half was a closer affair with both teams trading point for point. Thailand eased off the pace after having chalked up the huge first half lead.

In the men's competition, Malaysia are in Group B with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan. They play Pakistan in their opening match.

Group A comprises of India, Iran and Korea.

Other results:
Women: India bt Bangladesh 34-20; Iran bt Taiwan 62-18.

Festival Greetings

KAKL AGM

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur Annual General Meeting would be held on November 28th 2010 at the Kampong Pandan Hall.

The meeting, scheduled to start at 7.00pm, is expected to chart the associations directon for 2011.

However, this is not an election year and all office bearers would remain in office for another year.

DEEPAVALI WISHES

The Executive Committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous Deepavali!!!!!

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.

TRAINING RESUMES

The Federal Territory kabaddi squads resumed training at the Padang Utara on Sunday.

The teams are in preparation for various tournaments scheduled for the coming months.

The training sessions would be headed by KAKL chief coach R. Balamurugan with the assistance of the other state coaches.

Inter IPTA/IPTS Kabaddi Championships

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) provided technical assistance during the National Inter IPTA/IPTS kabaddi championships held at the University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)in Bangi from 9-10 October, 2010.

Nine teams from various institutes of higher learning took part in the competition.

REVISED DRAW

The draw for the FT Closed kabaddi championships scheduled for this Sunday (August 29, 2010) at the DBKL Sports Field has been revised to accommodate an additional request.

Please click here for the revised draw.

FT Closed Draw

A total of ten Federal Territory based teams will take part at the FT Closed Kabaddi Championships this Sunday (29th August) at the DBKL Sports Club Field in Brickfields.

Competition for both the men and women categories would be on a round robin basis with a reduced time of seven (7) minutes per half.

All team managers are requested to ensure that the teams are at the grounds by 8.30am as the first matches will commence at 9.00am.

We hope to conclude all matches by 3.00pm.

In addition to the normal competition, we are also planning a special officials game. All KAKL officials are requested to bring along proper attire for the match.



Click here for the full draw of the FT Closed Kabaddi Championships.

FT CLOSED

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would be hosting the Federal Territory Closed Kabaddi Championships at the DBKL Sports Club Field in Brickfields on Sunday August 29, 2010.

The tournament is also being held in conjunction with Merdeka.

Competition would be held for both the men and women categories.

As the tournament is only open to FT based teams, no entry fees would be charged.


Download the entry forms by clicking here.

Kg Pandan denied

Kg Pandan Kabaddi squad were denied the Klang Kabaddi Open title by Sivasangkari. The KL team were edged out 5-6 by their rivals.

Kg Pandan's title hopes were paid put after three of their key players were down with injuries before the final.

Heavy downpour also played a big role in the cautious approach of both teams in the final. The slippery ground affected the performance of players from both teams.

However, Kg Pandan proved they were a team to fear in the future, after their stunning defeat of favourites Sri Devi in the semi-finals.

Sivasangkari, who defeated the Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn 21-19 in the semi-final, had lost to Sri Devi in their group matches.

It was a bad day indeed for Sri Devi, who also lost to Pasum Ponn in the playoff for third place.

CONDOLENCES

The executive committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to extend our deepest condolonces to Mr L. Anbarasu and his family on the demise of his father earlier today morning.

The funeral is scheduled to take place tomorrow.

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.

BLESSED WESAK DAY!

The executive committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to extend our wishes to all our Buddhist friends on a Blessed Wesak Day.

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.

Scratch team wins title

A scratch Kg Pandan squad packed enough firepower to win the kabaddi championships held in conjunction with the Youth Day celebrations in Putrajaya on Sunday.

The Kuala Lumpur based club hardly raised a sweat as they crushed their opponents to win the tournament.

With other top KL based clubs giving the tournament a miss, it was left to the Kg Pandan team to keep the KL flag flying high.

Despite, missing several first choice players, Kg Pandan opened their campaign with a 41-21 win over Puchong Perdana.

The team followed it up with a 38-28 defeat of Sepang in the semi-finals.

In the finals, Kg Pandan were hardly troubled by the Pahang Sukma squad. They eased to a 50-20 win to claim the title.

Double for Sri Devi

Sri Devi clinched a double at the Kampong Pandan Open kabaddi championships on Sunday by winning both the men's and women's title.

In the men's competition, Sri Devi Tigers defeated Sri Devi Dragons 22-18 in the final.

The Dragons were the favourites to win the title after edging out Kg Pandan D Gen X 12-6 in the semi-finals. However, the Dragons chose to play at half pace and allow their junior team win their first ever title.

Earlier in the other semi-finals, the Tigers defeated Damansara 22-17 in a heated match.

Damansara could have clinched the final spot, but let their emotions get the better of them, allowing a more composed Tigers to snatch the game away in the dying minutes.

The women's competition was played in a single round robin format, with Sri Devi winning both their matches.

They were lucky to escape with a 30-28 win over Sri Manjari and later got the better of Segar.

Segar edged Sri Manjari 33-32 to take second place.

Pictures from the tournament are available here.

Hosts in Group of Death

Hosts Kg Pandan D Gen X have been drawn in the Group of Death for the Kg Pandan Open kabaddi championships on Sunday.

They are in Group A with favourites Sri Devi Dragons, Arasai Kaalai and the Indian expatriate team of Paravai Koattai.

With only the top two teams moving into the semi-finals, the battle in the group is expected to be tight.

The Kg Pandan team almost pulled off an upset over the Dragons at the Premier League Kabaddi (PLK) match last week and would be looking to improve on their performance.

Selayang and Sri Devi Tigers are expected to qualify for the semi-finals from the other group.

The Tigers upset Selayang at the PLK last week and it would be a grudge match between the teams in Group B.

Sri Manjari would be looking to show their defeat of Segar last week was no fluke in the women's competition.


MEN
GROUP A: Selayang, Sri Devi Tigers, Kg Pandan Tigers, Damansara
GROUP B: Sri Devi Dragons, Kg Pandan D Gen X, Arasai Kaalai, Paravai Koattai

WOMEN: Sri Devi, Segar, Sri Manjari

CLICK HERE FOR THE MATCH SCHEDULE

Kampong Pandan Open

Newly crowned KAKL Premier League Kabaddi (PLK) champions Sri Devi Dragons are among the teams that have already confirmed their participation at the Kg Pandan Open kabaddi championships on Sunday 9th May, 2010.

Hosts Kg Pandan Lions (picture above) are expected to be among the teams that could give the Dragons a run for their money at the championships. The Lions were unlucky not to have beaten Dragons at the PLK last Sunday.

Selayang and the top Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn are also expected to be strong contenders.

Ten teams have already confirmed their participation in the men's competition and three team have been entered for the women's competition.

Entries close on Friday when the Draw Ceremony for the tournament is held in Kg Pandan.

Those interested in taking part in the tournament can call R. Balamurugan at 012 2179577 for more information.

SUKMA Test Matches

The 2008 SUKMA gold medal team from Wilayah Persekutuan

The Federal Territory SUKMA kabaddi team would fine tune their preparations for this years competition with a triangular Test Tournament at the Kampong Pandan grounds on Tuesday night.

The team would play against top club teams from Kg Pandan Lions and Sri Devi Dragons.

DRAGONS RULE THE ROOST

Sri Devi Dragons as expected clinched the inaugural KAKL Premier League Kabaddi men's title at the Kampong Pandan Grounds.

They struggled to defeat home team Kampong Pandan Lions in their final League match to ensure their unbeaten run in the competition.

A rejuvenated Lions held the upper hand in the match but were let down by a lapse of concentration in the closing stages of their game to lose 35-41.

They led for much of the game and led 21-16 at the end of the firs half. They stretched their lead to as much as seven at one stage. But with just five minutes to go, the Lions gave away crucial points on defense to see the Dragons draw level at 30-30.

In a nail-biting finish, it was the Lions who faltered. The Dragons pushed ahead and won the game confortably.

A tepid Selayang suprisingly slumped to a 44-48 lost to Sri Devi Tigers but held on to their second place finish in the league.

The Lions and Tigers finished level on 14 points but third place went the Lions way on a better score difference.

In the only women's match played Sri Manjari stunned Segar Brights 67-59 but the win did not change the positions the team would finish. Sri Devi Princess had already clinched the overall crown ahead of Segar with Manjari finishing third.

The prize presentation for the League would be held after the conclusion on the KAKL Knockout Cup which is in the semi-final stage.

Pictures from the final day competition is available here.

Tamilar Thirunaal Kabaddi in JB

Officials from the KAKL were invited to assist in the kabaddi tournament in conjunction with the Tamilar Thirunaal at the Taman Universiti 2 in Johor Bahru on 1st May, 2010.

The tournament attracted three teams from Johor Bahru including the Johor Sukma kabaddi team. The tournament final was between the Johor Sukma team playing under the name of Harimau Selatan and the Indian expatriate team of Hamid Corner with the state team emerging as winners.

Officials from KAKL also had the opportunity to meet up with the Johor Kabaddi Association officials after the tournament to exchange ideas.

PLK Matches

The Premier League Kabaddi matches will go on as scheduled this Sunday 2nd May 2010 at the Kg Pandan Grounds grounds from 9.30am.

The women's matches on schedule are:
Sri Devi Angels vs Sri Devi Princess
Segar vs Sri Manjari

The remaining men's matches are:

Segar vs Kg Pandan Tigers
Sri Devi Dragons vs Damansara
Sri Devi Tigers vs Damansara
Segar vs Sri Devi Dragons
Segar vs Kg Pandan Lions
Damasara vs Kg Pandan Tigers
Kg Pandan Lions vs Sri Devi Dragons
Selayang vs Sri Devi Tigers

All teams are requested to report for the matches by 9.00am.

ACTIVE CITY WORKSHOP INVITATION

We have received an invitation to participate in the ACTIVE CITY - 3AC WORKSHOP from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm on Monday 3rd May 2010 @ Bilek Bunga Raya, IYC International Youth Center (opp HUKM) Jalan Yaakob Latiff, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur.

This program is an opportunity for leaders of NGO's supporting Sport for All and Community based programs and will give them some understanding of the skills and requirements to work with the communities for active living.

This IOC sanctioned program, is so designed that it could run for a maximum four days with practical sessions and is already very popular all over the world.

The program is in English and participants will be accorded with Certificates and relevant papers.

REGISTRATION: (1.30 pm Monday 3rd May 2010 @ Bilek Bunga Raya IYC.KL)

The half day program will be conducted in English by Prof Dr Peter Kapustin (Germany) and Ms Bae Dixon (Australia)

More information of the course is available here and here.

Those interested please drop us an email at klkabaddi@gmail.com before Wednesday 28th April, 2010

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

Tournament announcements

The Premier League Kabaddi will resume on May 2, 2010 after a lengthy break. Damansara Kabaddi Club would be the host this time at their home ground.

Matches are scheduled to start at 9.30a and the full schedule would be published within the next ten days.

Meanwhile, the Kampong Pandan Kabaddi Club is hosting an open tournament on May 23, 2010 in Kampong Pandan.

Competition would be held for both the men and women. Details of the competition would be announce soon.

Those interested in taking part can contact R. Balamurugan at 012 2179577.

GREETINGS !

From the Executive Committee of the Kuala Lumpur Kabaddi Association.

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.

New President for Nepal Kabaddi

The All Nepal Kabaddi Association president Sunil Rajkarnikar and his committee has been sacked for their failure to develop the game in Nepal.

Wishful thinking but can it also happen with incompetent sports officials in this country.

Read more about it here.

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.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

The executive committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to say a big THANK YOU to all who contributed to the success of the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships.

KL-KUTTRALAM FRIENDSHIP TOURNAMENT

Newly crowned KL International Inter City Kabaddi champions Chennai would be among six teams confirmed for the KL-Kuttralam Friendship Kabaddi Tournament this Friday.

The Chennai team have extended their stay in Kuala Lumpur and would be the star attraction at the tournament to be held on the 12th of April from 7.00pm at the Sri Devi Kabaddi Club Grounds, 14th Mile Puchong.

Entry into the championships is by invitation only. The Kuala Lumpur based clubs confirmed for the championships are Sri Devi, Kg Pandan and Selayang.

All of the state's SUKMA players are expected to participate in the tournament that would help them gain valuable competitive exposure.

Negri Sembilan's Seremban would be the only non-KL team in the tournament.



Chennai is expected to field all their best players at the tournament. Kabaddi fans would get another chance to watch the skills of players like Karnan and Sundara Moorthy (pix above) up close.

With the weight ruling relaxed for the tournament, a number of KL players who missed out on the chance to play at the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships would be able to play.

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.

Technical Course

The KAKL Level One Technical Course and Refresher Course for existing officials was successfully conducted from 26-28 February, 2010.

The first two days course was conducted at the Kompleks Sukan Bukit Kiara and the practical sessions was held on the third day at the Kompleks Sukan Kampong Pandan.

KAKL would like to thank all those who attended and also the Jabatan Sukna Wilayah Persekutuan for their assistance.

The exams for the Level One Technical Officials would be held later this month.

However, those who attended the course are expected to help out during the International Inter City Kabaddi Championships.

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.

5 countries, 13 cities, 1 destination

The KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships is set to be the biggest international kabaddi for national style competition ever.

Thirteen cities from five countries have confirmed their participation at the second edition of the championships at the Stadium Titiwangsa from March 5-7.

The men's competition will see a record 12 teams teams vying for the crown while the women's competition would see six teams in contention.

Katmandu, Colombo, Oslo, Patialla, Vijayawada, Chennai, New Delhi, Faridabad, Kapurthala, Mumbai, Jagatpura would be joined by teams from Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya at the championships.

The official draw for the championships is expected to take place next week.

Olympics is but a dream.....for now

During the 1936 Olympics, kabaddi was demonstrated by the Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal from Amaravati, Maharashtra in Berlin.

While kabaddi enthusiast, still claim that it was part of the Olympics, you would not find it in the official list of demonstration sports at the Games.

Ever since kabaddi was included as a medal sports at the Beijing Asian Games in 1990, there has been numerous statements from the international kabaddi officials that kabaddi would be in the Olympics before long

The irony is that the form of kabaddi demonstrated in Berlin was circle kabaddi and the form played at the Asian Games is the national style kabaddi.

But is kabaddi really heading in the right direction towards Olympics recognition.

The earliest edition of Olympics where kabaddi can be included would be the 2024 Games.

That is a almost a quarter of a century away. The type of sports to be included up to the 2016 Olympics have already been decided. Golf and rugby were included into the Olympics programme by the International Olympic Council at their meeting last year.

Inclusion of new sports into the Olympics are made seven years in advance. The inclusion of newer sports for the 2020 Olympics would be made in 2013 at the IOC meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

Mathematically, kabaddi can fight for inclusion for the 2020 Olympics but that is highly improbable because no groundwork has been done by the international bodies.

All we hear are mere political statements designed for the feel good factor.

Despite recognition at the Asiad, kabaddi is still a long way off from being recognised by the IOC.

For starters, regional sports like wushu, sepaktakraw and even silat are in better position to gain an Olympic spot.

Kabaddi at the international level needs an upheaval. IOC regulations stipulates that there must be a minimum of 50 countries from three continents playing the game as one of the preconditions to be a member of the IOC.

Kabaddi, for all we know is still an Asian dominated game and worst for it still a game predominantly played only in South Asia.

Kabaddi, despite being in the Asian Games, is not in any of the other regional games in Asia with the exception of South Asian Games. The East Asian Games or the South East Asian Games do not have kabaddi in their programme.

Neither does the sport have regular continental championships even in Asia. Absolutely no continental championships is held outside of Asia.

These are just two of the setbacks for kabaddi in its quest for Olympic status. Many of us may not live to the day when kabaddi gains Olympic recognition.

But if serious planning and execution of an Olympic programme is not done with immediate effect, it would take several more decades before the sport gains a wider international appeal.

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.

About the Presidents Cup by the KAKL president

For the past couple of weeks, we have been asked over and over again as to why we were not part of the President’s Cup kabaddi championships.

We chose not to make a big fuss over our omission from the tournament, which we had won twice before and could have easily won again, for several good reasons.

Unlike others, we are not in the business of disrupting any kabaddi tournaments even when we are being victimized.

We were shocked that the organisers had even hired bouncers in the misguided anticipation of us disrupting their tournament.

Now that the tournament is over, we believe that it is important to dispel rumours and set the facts right.

This is not the first time that our teams have been unceremoniously omitted from major competitions.

Last year, we initiated and worked very hard to include kabaddi in the Malaysian Traditional Games Festival. But, some calculative officials conspired to stop us from playing at the national level championships in Ipoh. We did not make a fuss then too.

For those of you, who have been following this site, the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) have been at odds over many issues with the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM).

One of these, was the fact that the KAM failed to invite us for the last General Meeting. We had written to them asking for an explanation in January 2009. After one year, we have yet to receive a reply to our queries. Very efficient indeed for a set of so-called experienced sports administrators!

In the meanwhile, certain KAM officials had gone on an extended campaign claiming that the KAKL were no longer an affiliate.

It reminds to us the words of renowned American journalist Ambrose Bierce who said:

“It is a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.”

The organisers did not invite us for the President’s Cup in what we presume was their reasoning that we were no longer KAM affiliates.

That being the case, we are left wondering the need for the KAM officials to make press statements over and over again in the newspapers that the KAKL team were barred from taking part in the President’s Cup.

We found it funny but totally amateurish attempt by these officials to smear the good name of the KAKL. Why talk about us when they had already claimed that the state was not part of their organization? Did the KAKL even requested to play in the tournament?

These are the type of gutter politics kabaddi nor any sport, for the matter, needs.
That the so-called powers to be, were prepared to victimize the players for their own benefit shows the shallowness of their boast of developing the game.

The KAKL did not take part in the Presidents Cup because we were not invited. If there was an invitation, we would have certainly send the cream of our players with the target of winning the titles at stake.

But we are not willing to beg for inclusion when we had done no wrong. Even if there was a notion of, we the office bearers having done something wrong, that should not have affected the players.

Nevertheless, missing the tournament had its positive implications for us.
We were able to gauge and assess the strength and weakness of the teams from the other states that we need to face during the SUKMA in Melaka in June.

And for heavens sake, we strongly suggest that all the rubbish talk that the team from Federal Territory would not be allowed to play at the SUKMA be stopped immediately.

Entries for SUKMA are by the respective state sports councils and approved by the National Sports Council. The KAM’s role is only on the technical aspects of running the kabaddi competition and not approval of teams to the SUKMA.

We missed out the chance of the hattrick at the Presidents Cup but it gave us the opportunity to concentrate on the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships we are hosting from March 5-7 at the Stadium Titiwangsa.

The championships is being hosted with the support of the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, the Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan and the Jabatan Belia dan Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan.

This is enough to put a rest to the unwarranted statements that the KAKL is not a legal sports body.

The competition at the international would be a great advantage in the preparation of our team for the SUKMA.

Some of our players and officials took time off to watch the finals of the President’s Cup and it was a good educational visit for us as we are in the midst of organising a major tournament and also in view of the SUKMA preparations.

No matter what happens, these are the mistakes we will not make when we host the KL International Inter City Kabaddi Championships early next month.

1. We will not waste money in hiring bouncers for sporting events
2. We will only use local players images in our event posters and banners and buntings and backdrops instead of foreign players.
3. We will take good care of our sponsors and not allow our own actions result in sponsors cancelling their commitment.
4. We will invite even our most hateful critics to attend our functions and give them due respect.
5. We will not allow the fermentation of infighting by encouraging splinter groups.
6. We will not call the media and discourage them from giving publicity for kabaddi events run by rival groups.
7. We will not use gangsters to harass officials.
8. We will not post lies on blogs and then boast about it to others


But the President’s Cup also raised some interesting questions especially the fact that the host states key officials were conspicuously missing. And no, we were not surprised that the national body’s president was himself missing from a tournament named Presidents Cup.

Yours in kabaddi,

S.T. Arasu
President
Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur

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.