KARACHI: Pakistan has invited Iran for a five-match kabaddi series in August, a top official of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) said.
“Yes, during our recent tour to Tehran, we invited Iran for a five-match series and they have agreed to come here in August,” PKF secretary Mohammad Sarwar told ‘The News’ from Islamabad on Friday.
The series is to be held at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad.
Sarwar said that the series would be held in the Asian style. He added that the PKF would soon send the Iran kabaddi authorities the dates for the series. “We will soon inform the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) about the series and will also send Iran the final itinerary,” said Sarwar, also secretary of the Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF).
To a query, he said that it would not be possible to allot matches of the series to other cities of the country. “Due to budget problem we cannot hold matches in the other cities,” he said.
Sarwar revealed that Pakistan also planned to hold an international tournament of circle kabaddi in September. “We plan to hold an international tournament at Wah Cantt in September. We will try to invite a few countries such as Iran and Afghanistan. India may also be part of the competitions,” said Sarwar, a former international.
Meanwhile, Pakistan kabaddi team returned from Iran on Thursday after losing the five-match series 3-2 to the hosts.
After conceding the initial two encounters, Pakistan reduced the deficit by winning the third match. However, Iran won the fourth show to claim the series victory. Pakistan won the fifth show.
Sarwar, who accompanied the team, said that it was a tough series.
“All the matches were very close. You know, it was a training tour and initially our team was a bit unsettled but it made a strong comeback. Because it was also a joint training camp, in the last two days we told them to play a couple of more matches with us but they refused as they knew that our team was now in top shape,” he said.
However, he was quick to add that Iran had improved a great deal.
If the conflict between sports bodies is resolved, Pakistan kabaddi team will also feature in the Asian Games, penciled in for September 19 to October 4 in the Inchon city of South Korea.
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