DUBAI: The International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) will be holding its annual general body meeting on June 29 in the city and is reportedly considering the venue strongly for next year’s World Cup, Press Trust of India reports.
Dubai is also playing host to the ongoing six-nation Kabaddi Masters tournament.
IKF president Janardan Singh Gehlot said that although the venue for the World Cup is a long way from being finalized, it will be the main agenda of discussion during the meeting.
“All the three World Cups have taken place in India. We want the sport to spread so we have arranged this preparatory tournament. Dates and venue are yet to be announced. We are assessing the pros and cons here,” Gehlot was quoted as saying to PTI.
“I am not here to speculate. I will only declare (the venue) when it’s made official.”
However, Argentina Kabaddi Federation president Ricardo Acuna opined that Dubai has a “high possibility” to hosting the game’s marquee event. Acuna was the man responsible to spread Kabaddi in the football-crazy South American nation in 1999. He also confirmed that the 2019 event will have three South American nations featuring in it for the first time in history.
“The idea has been mooted now there will be discussions and IKF will also seek feedbacks from the six participating nations (India, Iran, Pakistan, Korea, Argentina and Kenya). It’s definitely possible but will only be confirmed on June 29,” Acuna told PTI.
“We will have Mexico and Colombia joining in the meet. It will definitely give a great push for the sport. Hopefully we will be able to taste our first victory at international level.”
While the World Cup was played for the first time in 2004, the move to host it in an international city such as Dubai is reportedly keeping in mind the aim of getting the game into the Olympics in the future.
“It’s part of our preparation to get the sport into Olympics. England, Poland, Italy have organised a championship. We have a federation in Denmark.”
“It’s a slow process. I don’t have a magic wand. We don’t have a vote in Olympic council. There are certain norms and we are trying our best to fulfil the criteria to get recognised by the Olympic council. It’s my dream to see kabaddi in Olympics. We will keep trying but it’s not up to me,” Gehlot concluded.
