Kabaddi is a contact sport that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It has also grown to become a popular sport in other parts of the world. The second Junior Kabaddi World Championship 2023 will be the first international kabaddi tournament since the pandemic was lifted. The first Junior Kabaddi World Championship was held in November 2019 in Kish Island, Iran.
The Junior Kabaddi World Championship is an important competition for bringing more youth into the sport and spreading awareness about it. It is also an opportunity for Pro Kabaddi teams to scout talent.
The Junior Kabaddi World Championship 2023 will be held in Urmia, Iran from February 26 to March 5. As many as 18 teams will compete for top honours. The tournament is a kabaddi competition for under-20 players.
Table of Contents
1st Edition
- Iran
- Kenya
- Pakistan
- Bangladesh
- Thailand
- Sri Lanka
- Chinese Taipei
- Denmark
- Iraq
- Malaysia
- Azerbaijan
- Turkmenistan
2nd Edition
- Iran
- Iraq
- Kenya
- Pakistan
- Bangladesh
- India
- Chinese Taipei
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Nepal
- Afghanistan
- Turkmenistan
- Syria
- Uganda
- Germany
India
India did not participate in the inaugural tournament and this will be their first participation in the U20 Kabaddi World Championship.
The team will depart for Iran on February 24. It will compete in the nine-day competition to be conducted in Asian style. Many of the youngsters performed well in PKL 9 (Narender Kandola, Partheek Dahiya and Ankush.) Narender Kandola was a crisis man for Tamil Thalaivas, finishing in the top five of the raiders list and breaking several records. ankush was named the best defender of the tournament. Partheek Dahiya overtook the experienced Chandran Ranjith and Rakesh Kumar at the lead raider position, both of whom will be key on defense along with Ankush.
The Delhi High Court has allowed two teenage Kabaddi players permission to represent India in the Junior World Championship (Boys) in Iran. The court asked the administrator of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India and Sports Authority of India to take immediate steps for getting the requisite documentation in place. Rohit Kumar and Narender Kandola to represent India at the event. They claimed that they had been coached and trained for the world cup.
The team will be led by PKL 9 champion coaches Sanjeev Baliyan, Anup Kumar and Ravindra Shetty. Narender Kandola and Ankush Rathee will play key roles in India’s first match. Interestingly, Parteek Dahiya has been retained in the reserve squad.
- Squad
Raiders: Narender Kandola, Jai Bhagwan, Manjeet Sharma, Manu Deshwal, and Abhijit Malik
Defenders: Ankush Rathee, Ashish Malik, Sachin, Rohit Kumar, Vijyanth Jaglan, and Yogesh Dahiya
All-Rounders: Sagar Kumar
Reserves: Partheek Dahiya, Vinay Redhu, and Ashish
Iran
It will be the second time Iran hosts the event. The first one was held in November on Kish Island. During the first edition of the Junior Kabaddi World Championship, Iran defeated Kenya in the final by 42-22.
The inaugural edition produced many bright talents from Iran who excelled in the PKL. Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, Reza Mirbagheri and Amirhossein Bastami were standout performers who were given the opportunity to showcase their talents in the PKL. With PKL 10 coming up, it will be the right time for the youngsters to prove themselves before the Senior Championship and PKL.
Pakistan
Pakistan won the bronze medal in the last edition of the tournament, also hosted by Iran in Kish Island in 2019. The 12-member Pakistan team, yet to be announced, will be accompanied by coach Rahat Ali and two umpires.
The PKF secretary Mohammad Sarwar said that they have got some excellent players and hopes for a solid result.
“We had the national junior championship and we found some boys who have fight in them. This is our future and I am very optimistic that the brigade will offer its services worldwide. Due to the devaluation of the Pakistani currency against the U.S. dollar, airfares are very expensive. The price of airline tickets has gone up a lot. We are not getting any vigilance assistance and PKF is handling the trip on its own.” Sarwar said.