India and Malaysia to vie for final honours

CHANDIGARH: After incessant rains played spoilsport in the women's final match between India and Malaysia in Jalandhar on Thursday, the action will move to Ludhiana where both team's will lock horns for the coveted trophy of the Kabaddi World Cup on Saturday.
India is the defending champions, while underdogs Malaysia booked their place in the finals on the back of some superb performances throughout the tournament.
In the semifinals, India handed out a 56-7 thrashing to England. The Indian women proved too good for England whom they outplayed in all departments. Indian raiders Priyanka Devi, Priyanka Pilaniya and Sukhwinder Kaur will once again be the mainstay of the team, while stoppers Jatinder Kaur, Anu Rani and Mandeep Kaur will look to enhance their reputation in the final match of the championship.
The Indian team is undefeated in the tournament and will look to continue their winning run.
Meanwhile, Malaysia outplayed Denmark by a margin of 41-25 points. For Malaysia raider Manpreet Kaur and Paramjit Kaur are the lynchpin of the side and will look to repeat their semi final performance against India in the final. Stoppers Mandeep Kaur and Rekha will also look to make their mark during the course of the summit clash.
Indian stopper Anu Rani who hails from Haryana, has already bagged the best player award during the semifinal match. The Indian team mostly consists Haryanvi girls, who have taken a liking for this indigenous Punjabi game. Eight players from the women's team are from Haryana, while six are from Punjab.
For Malaysia, it has been a dream run of sorts, as they beat much-fancied England during the group stages and then Denmark was handed out a convincing beating during the semifinals. The morale of the team is high and the players are ready to go and give it their best shot in the final match.