Kabbadi
A file photo of India and Pakistan Kabbadi players during the 2012 Asia Cup final Getty

India will take on South Korea in the first match of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup at the Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 7 October. It is the third edition of the international format and the host nation have won it on two occasions.

The defending champions will be looking to win it for the third time in a row, but will face tough competition from other sides, especially from the teams pitted in Pool A. Their neighbours Bangladesh, along with England, Australia and Argentina are also placed in the same pool as India.

South Korea's Jang Kun Lee has featured in India's Kabaddi league, Pro-Kabaddi League and it is a new popular sport in that country. Dong Ju Hong is leading the South East Asian nation and they possess all the qualities to beat Anup Kumar's side on Friday.

Where to watch live

There will be two matches played every day from 7 October to 19 October. The first match starts at 3.30pm BST/10.30am EST/8pm IST.

Sky Sports will provide coverage of the match in the United Kingdom, while Star Sports in India are the official broadcasters of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. Live streaming will be available on the Sky Sports' website in the United Kingdom and Hotstar in India.

Prediction

India to win

TV Guide

  • United Kingdom: Sky Sports
  • India: Star Sports
  • United States of America: Fox Sports
  • Canada: CBN
  • Saudi Arabia: OSN Sports

Team News

India

Squad: Anup Kumar (Captain), Ajay Thakur, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Jasvir Singh, Mohit chillar, Manjeet Chhillar, Pardeep Narwal, Sandeep Narwal, Surendra Nada, Rahul Chaudhari, Surjeet, Nitin Tomar, Kiran Parmar

South Korea

Squad: Dong Ju Hong (Captain), Kim Ki-dong, Park Hyun-il, Eom Tae-deok, Lee Jang-kun. Yook Sang-min, Ahn Hwan-gi, Jung Kwang-soo, Seo Dea-ho, Kim Seong-ryeol, Kim Gyung-tae, Heo Youn-chan.

South Korea