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World Cup Kabaddi is back, kicks off today

The 5th annual World Cup Kabaddi will kick off amidst fanfare at the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium in Jalandhar on Saturday. Renowned Bollywood celebrities and several political leaders are expected to attend the ceremony that will cost around Rs 2.5 crores.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, along with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, will be the chief guest on the occasion.

The World Cup, to be held with an estimated budget of Rs 16 crore, including 5.27 crore prize money, will be held from December 6 to 13 in various cities of the state.

According to Shubra Bhardwaj, Director Ferriswheel, a Mumbai-based event management company organising the inaugural and the closing ceremony, a special mapping technique clubbed with cyclorama technology will be used at the opening ceremony.

The technology, being used for the first time in India, will provide extra colour and excitement to the show. A gigantic stage measuring 100x80 feet, with four LEDs have been set up for the purpose.

The entire star cast of the upcoming Bollywood movie Tewar, including Arjun kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha, will enthral the audience. Noted actor Arjan Bajwa will anchor the show, and a special fire dance troupe from Russia will also strut their stuff.

Visa issues

As many as 11 teams in the men’s section and eight in the women’s section will participate in the Cup. Till late Friday evening, some of the teams hadn’t got their visas, and hence could be dropped.

Random dope test

According to Tejinder Dhaliwal, Director Sports, Punjab, random dope test would be conducted at the venue before and after every match. He informed that NADA had conducted dope test during the selection trials too in Ludhiana.

Sport not recognized

Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s claim to take circle style kabaddi to Olympics appears farfetched, at least as of now, as the sport is not recognised even by Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Interestingly, despite the huge guest list, the organisers haven’t invited the IOA, International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), Olympic Council of Asia or Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India to the event.

The Secretary Sports said Punjab would soon take up the matter with the Union government. But given the current situation, the sport, it seems, will have to wait longer to get recognition.

Teams: (men): USA, Canada, Pakistan, Iran, Denmark, Australia, England, Spain, Argentina, Sweden, India; (women): USA, India, England, Denmark, New Zealand, Mexico, Pakistan, Azerbaijan

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