2016 Kabaddi World Cup (International Kabaddi Federation)

Created by Sherrie7069
Last edited November 25, 2025


2016 Kabaddi World Cup
File:2016 Kabaddi World Cup (IKF) logo.jpg
Tournament information
Dates7 October 2016–22 October 2016
Administrator(s)International Kabaddi Federation
Government of Gujarat
FormatStandard style
Tournament
format(s)
Round-robin and Knockout
Host(s)India
Venue(s)The Arena, Ahmedabad
Participants12
Final positions
ChampionsTemplate:Kabaddi (3rd title)
1st runners-upTemplate:Kabaddi
2nd runners-upTemplate:Kabaddi
Template:Kabaddi
Tournament statistics
Matches played33
Best RaiderIndia Ajay Thakur (64 points)
Best DefenderIndia PO Surjeet Singh (23 points)
← 2007
2025 →

The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup was the third edition of the men's Kabaddi World Cup organised by the International Kabaddi Federation and contested from 7 to 22 October 2016 in Ahmedabad, India. Twelve countries competed in the tournament. India won their 3rd World Cup by defeating Iran 38–29 in the final.

Participating countries[edit | edit source]

Team Captain
 Australia Campbell Brown
Template:Kabaddi Md. Aruduzzaman Munshi
Template:Kabaddi Someshwar Kaila
Template:Kabaddi Anup Kumar
Template:Kabaddi Meraj Sheykh
Template:Kabaddi Masayuki Shimokawa
 Kenya David Mosambayi
Template:Kabaddi Michał Śpiczko
Template:Kabaddi Dong Ju Hong
Template:Kabaddi Khomsan Thongkam
Template:Kabaddi Cesaro Roman
Template:Kabaddi Troy Bacon

Twelve teams competed in the tournament.[1] Pakistan was originally scheduled to participate in the tournament, but was removed due to increased tensions between India and Pakistan. The International Kabaddi Federation argued that it was "not the right time to engage with Pakistan". The Pakistani team criticized the move, arguing that it was comparable to holding a FIFA World Cup without Brazil.[2]

Venue[edit | edit source]

The tournament was hosted at The Arena (currently known as The Arena by TransStadia, pending the sale of official naming rights), a newly constructed convertible stadium in Ahmedabad. In its standard configuration, it operates as an outdoor football pitch capable of seating 20,000. The venue utilizes technology licensed from the British firm StadiArena, which allows a portion of the field to be partitioned into a 4,000-seat indoor arena, which is used for the tournament. The venue is a public-private partnership with India's Department of Tourism[3][4]

Marketing[edit | edit source]

Emblem[edit | edit source]

The official emblem of the tournament was unveiled on 14 September 2016 by Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel. It incorporates a stylized lion, representing the Asiatic lions of Girnar. The use of a lion symbolizes the "ferocity of a Kabaddi defender and the agility of a raider", while its striped mane represents the worldwide participation in the tournament.[5][6]

Broadcasting[edit | edit source]

Star Sports served as host broadcaster of the tournament. In a partnership with Voke, all matches were also streamed in 360-degree video with stereoscopic 3D options.[7][8]

Countries Broadcaster
 Australia Fox Sports
 Canada Commonwealth Broadcasting Network
 India Star Sports
Latin America ESPN
 Saudi Arabia OSN Sports
File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Sky Sports
 United States ESPN3;[9] on 8 August 2017, ESPNU carried an encore of the final as part of its programming stunt "ESPN8: The Ocho"—a marathon of obscure and unconventional sporting events.[10][11]

Group stage[edit | edit source]

Pool A Pool B
Template:Kabaddi
Template:Kabaddi
Template:Kabaddi
 Australia
Template:Kabaddi
 Argentina
Template:Kabaddi
Template:Kabaddi
Template:Kabaddi
 Kenya
Template:Kabaddi
Template:Kabaddi

Pool points system:

Win 5 points
Draw 3 points
Loss (Score difference is less than or equal to 7) 1 point
Loss (Score difference is More than 7 points) 0 point

Pool A[edit | edit source]

Team Pld W D L SF SA SD Pts Qualification
Template:Kabaddi 5 5 0 0 256 148 108 25 Advance to knockout phase
Template:Kabaddi 5 4 0 1 286 112 174 21
Template:Kabaddi 5 3 0 2 251 144 107 16
Template:Kabaddi 5 2 0 3 190 230 −40 10
 Australia 5 1 0 4 146 311 −165 5
 Argentina 5 0 0 5 161 345 −184 0

Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Pool B[edit | edit source]

Team Pld W D L SF SA SD Pts Qualification
Template:Kabaddi 5 4 0 1 247 165 82 20 Advance to knockout phase
Template:Kabaddi 5 4 0 1 212 141 71 20
 Kenya 5 3 0 2 225 180 45 16
Template:Kabaddi 5 2 0 3 172 164 8 12
Template:Kabaddi 5 2 0 3 211 206 5 11
Template:Kabaddi 5 0 0 5 104 315 −211 0

Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Template:Kabaddibox


Knockout stage[edit | edit source]

Semi-finals Final
      
A1 Template:Kabaddi 22
B2 Template:Kabaddi 28
SF1 Template:Kabaddi 29
SF2 Template:Kabaddi 38
B1 Template:Kabaddi 20
A2 Template:Kabaddi 73

Semi-finals[edit | edit source]

Template:Kabaddibox Template:Kabaddibox

Final[edit | edit source]

Template:Kabaddibox

Statistics[edit | edit source]

Top Raiders[edit | edit source]

Player Pts
India Ajay Thakur 64
Thailand Khomsan Thongkham 56
Bangladesh Md Aruduzzaman Munshi 54
England Temi Tope Adewalure 51
India Pardeep Narwal 49

Top Defenders[edit | edit source]

Player Pts
India PO Surjeet SINGH 23
Iran Fazel Atrachali 22
India Manjeet Chhillar 22
Kenya James Odhiamboobi 22
India Surender Nada 21

Awards[edit | edit source]

Best Raider India Ajay Thakur
Best Defender India Surjeet
Emerging Player South Korea Jang Kun Lee
Emerging Team  Kenya
Best Referee Bangladesh S.K. Monu

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Simple, visceral, fun: why the ancient sport of kabaddi is enjoying a resurgence". The Guardian. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. "Pakistan barred from Kabaddi World Cup in India". BBC News. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. "Arena by TransStadia: A sneak peek into India's first convertible stadium". Livemint. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  4. "Arena By TransStadia In Ahmedabad, India's First Convertible Stadium Hosting Kabaddi World Cup". India Times. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  5. "2016 Kabaddi World Cup Logo Unveiled".
  6. "Official logo of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup launched in New Delhi". 2016 Kabaddi World Cup official website. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  7. "Hotstar to stream Kabaddi World Cup in 3D virtual reality". India Today. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  8. "Kabaddi World Cup 2016 Live: Now Watch in 3D Virtual Reality on Hotstar". News18. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  9. "U.S. team takes aim at Kabaddi World Cup". ESPN.com. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  10. "ESPN is creating ESPN8: 'The Ocho' for one glorious day". SB Nation. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  11. Rosenthal, Phil. "'ESPN8: The Ocho' to replace ESPNU — if only for a day". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 August 2017.

External links[edit | edit source]

Template:Kabaddi World Cup