Indian kabaddi team eyes Asian Games after Dubai success
Coach Reddy stunned by fans support during final against Iran
Indian Kabaddi team, after producing a spectacular performance in the Kabaddi Master Dubai six nation tournament to win the title by beating Iran at the Al Wasl Sports Complex on Saturday, are now aiming for the Asian Games crown.
Answering to a query from Gulf News as to what was the secret behind the team’s resounding win in all the matches here, India’s coach Srinivas Reddy, said: “This was a pre-preparation for the Asian Games. Our ultimate goal is to win the Asian Games title. This was also a test of our raiders to create a winning combination. We now move forward to Jakarta (for Asian Games) to get that medal.”
Elaborating on the game plan, Reddy said: “The only message I gave to the boys was to go and rock themselves and give their best performance. I know that if we can go to Jakarta with a winning combination then our confidence will automatically go up. So I told everyone to enjoy and play their game and be the best.”
Reddy lauded the aggressive approach of his players against Iran and went on to pooh-pooh the complaint from Iran captain Amir Hossein Maleki, who complained that he was “bitten” during the final.
“We played with aggression. Kabaddi is a body contact game, it’s not carromboard. Kabaddi is also a tackle sport and is played like this. If we don’t tackle, the crowd will not enjoy and if we don’t give enjoyment to them then what is the fun. This was our last game of the tournament in Dubai and we had to give our best,” said Reddy, who also thanked the Indian fans for their vociferous support.
“The crowd response was fantastic. To come and support us by standing in queue despite the temperature outside being 42 degrees Celsius was remarkable. It was amazing. I could not believe my eyes … it seemed liked we played in India,” said Reddy, who is delighted with the enormous talent in the team.
Reddy pooh-poohed the complaint from Iran captain Amir Hossein Maleki, who complained that he was “bitten” during the final