India thumped arch-rivals Pakistan 36-20 in their opening encounter of the inaugural six-nation Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 on Friday. After starting the game cautiously, India soon picked up the pace scoring points off successive raids. On the other side, Pakistan raiders looked clueless and were all over the place. The world champions continued with the raiding domination collecting a total of 15 points compared to 9 by Pakistan. Skipper Ajay Thakur led from the front scoring 8 points in the match. In the defense department as well, India outclassed their opponents clinching 12 tackle points. Pakistan were no way near their opponents as they got all-out twice during the match. Towards the end, India extended their with tackle points from Ajay Thakur and Rohit Kumar. India will next play Kenya on Saturday.
It will be a test of character for either side that boasts of players who can change the game at any given point. Star raider Ajay Thakur, who led India to successive wins against Pakistan en-route their Asian Championship crown in Iran last year, will once again hope for a victorious start to the tournament on Friday. Besides Thakur, the Indian team also has quality raiders in Rahul Chaudhari, Pardeep Narwal, Rohit Kumar, Rishank Devadiga and Monu Goyat in their ranks. In Deepak Hooda, Manjeet Chhillar, Surender Nada and Girish Ernak, India also boast of top-class all-rounders and defenders to lend a perfect balance to the side. Highlighting the importance of the new tournament conceived by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) in partnership with Star India, India's newly-appointed coach Srinivas Reddy said it will be a "semi-final" before the Asiad, starting August 18. "This is the semi-final tournament before the Asian Games. This is also help us to prepare our strategy for the Asian Games," Reddy, a former India player told IANS. The second match of the opening day will see 2016 World Cup finalists Iran take on South Korea.