Pakistan-Iran kabaddi series to be discussed today

KARACHI: A crucial meeting of Pakistan and Iran kabaddi federations will be held in Tehran on Tuesday (today) to discuss the possibility of a series this year.

Pakistan will be represented in the meeting by the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation’s (PKF) secretary Mohammad Sarwar.“Tomorrow I will meet with Iran’s kabaddi authorities,” Sarwar told ‘The News’ from Iran on Monday. “We will talk on the possibility of a bilateral series,” he said.

Iran has emerged as a strong kabaddi power in the world, threatening powerful India as well as Pakistan, once the world’s second best side.Iran stunned everyone when they clinched gold in the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia last year. South Korea finished second, while India and Pakistan shared the third position.

“Such series are very important. Hopefully the meeting will yield a positive result,” said Sarwar, also secretary of Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF).He was invited by Iran Kabaddi Federation for conducting a referees course which was attended by referees from across Iran.

He will return on February 7. Sarwar has good relations with the Iran federation. The two countries have supported each other in the sport during the last few years.“Sponsorship is a major issue. In the past the issue impeded our efforts to organise international matches in Karachi and Peshawar. This time we will try to hold some matches in Karachi and Peshawar,” Sarwar said.

He also said that soon the federation would plan for holding a camp for South Asian Games. “We will soon plan for the SAG. I think the event will be held in September. We have sufficient time. If before the SAG Iran visited Pakistan for the series it would help us a lot,” said Sarwar, a former international.

The meeting of the South Asia Olympic Council will be held in Nepal on February 9. It is expected that the schedule of the SAG will be decided in the meeting. Nepal Olympic Association said during a meeting with the heads of the NOCs from South Asia in Tokyo last year that they would not be able to organise the biennial spectacle in March 2019 as their infrastructure was not ready. Sarwar said the Super Kabaddi League was also in the pipeline for this season.

“Definitely there will be second edition of SKL but its exact time-frame will be decided by the organisers themselves,” the official said.Strawberry Sports Management will conduct the league which also features foreign players.Sarwar also revealed that Pakistan would conduct an international course for referees this year.