Kabaddi World Cup 2020: Pakistan pummel Australia 62-25, seal semi-final berth

Kabaddi World Cup 2020: Pakistan brush aside Australia 62-25 in Group A fixture

By Web Desk
February 14, 2020
Photo: APP

Hosts Pakistan on Thursday brushed aside Australia 62-25 in their Group B fixture of the 2020 Kabaddi World Cup (circle style) at Faisalabad's Iqbal Stadium and, as expected, booked their berth in the semi-finals of the tournament.

The burly Men in Green, who had dismantled Canada in Lahore in their opening match of the World Cup, were at their ruthless best again against the Aussies, The News reported.

Pakistani raiders Lala Obaidullah, Kaleemullah and Bilal, under Irfan Mana's leadership, ran riots as they scored points after points to keep their side's 100 per cent record intact.

They were also superbly backed by the defence  featuring Musharraf Janjua, Shani Basra and Zafar Iqbal. 

Despite the loss, Australia also qualified for the semi-finals, courtesy their two wins.

Earlier, defending champions India showed their class, overcoming Iran 50-39 in their Group A contest, their third win from as many matches.

Photo: APP

At the jam-packed venue, Iran showed the Indians that they are also making rapid progress in circle style after having pulled off some major upsets in the Asian style kabaddi over the years. At one stage, both sides were going neck an neck. However, in the second half India put their experience on display, leaving Iran behind to seal a solid win.

In the other Group A outing, Sierra Leone were dealt a huge 43-14 defeat at the hands of Germany.

It was the second win for the Germans, while the fourth successive loss for Sierra Leone. Germany’s Manpreet Singh and Kuldeep Singh played with great authority to bring in a big win for their team.

On Friday (today) at the Zahoor Elahi Stadium in Gujrat, Pakistan will face Azerbaijan in their last pool outing. Another win will enable Pakistan to top the group. 

Meanwhile, India will be in action against England. A win for India will make them group champions. In that case, Pakistan will face Iran and India will lock horns with Australia in the semi-finals.

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