There were no surprises for the hosts and defending champions, India, as they announced their side for the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Mumbai. The tournament will be held in Ahmedabad and will begin from October 7.
The captain of the Pro Kabaddi League outfit U Mumba, Anup Kumar will be leading the side, which has won all five Kabaddi World Cups. The previous edition, which was in 2014 saw India beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final in Jalandar to lift the crown.
There are as many as 12 participants in this year's competition, one more that 2014. All-rounder Manjeet Chillar has been named the vice-captain of the Indian outfit, which is coached by Balwan Singh. The teams have been divided into two pools of six teams each.
India, who are in Pool A, are pitted against Bangaldesh, England, Australia, South Korea and Argentina. Group B comprises of Iran, United States of America, Poland, Kenya, Thailand, and Japan. The Indians begin their campaign against South Korea on October 7. Two teams from each pool progress to play the semi-finals. The summit event is on the 22nd of October
The squad: Anup Kumar (captain, Raider), Ajay Thakur (Raider) Deepak Hooda (Raider) Dharmaraj Cheralathan (Defender), Jasvir Singh (Raider), Kiran Parmar (Defender), Manjeet Chillar (vice-captain, Raider), Mohit Chillar (Defender), Nitin Tomar (Defender), Pardeep Narwal (Raider), Rahul Chaudhari (Raider), Sandeep Narwal (All-Rounder), Surender Nada (Defender).
