Pakistan awaits clearance from Indian government

Mumbai, Jan 23 (UNI) Pakistan's participation in the second World Cup Kabaddi Tournament hangs in balance as they have not yet been cleared by the Indian government.

This was disclosed by Janardan Singh Gehlot, President of International Kabaddi Federation and Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India at a press conference here.

''We would like Pakistan to come and play; but it all depends on the Union Government to clear them as early as possible, so that they are able to make their debut on the world stage.'' Pakistan had also missed the first edition of the World Cup held in Mumbai in 2004. Pakistan were the runners up at the last Asian Games in Doha (Qatar) and the final was fought spiritedly by them before going down to ultimate winners India.

Gehlot said,''The World Cup will lose its sheen minus Pakistan.

We would have preferred to fight Pakistan and win the coveted title.'' We have already dispatched the tickets to our neighbour who themselves are keen to participate in the World Cup. They have already submitted the required documents to the authorities concerned on both sides of the border and are eagerly awaiting the clearance.

We are trying to obtain the clearance by making efforts through the channels concerned to ensure our neighbours presence, added Gehlot.

Gehlot also released the groupings of the sixteen team tournament to be played on league cum knock out basis with India, Iran, Bangladesh and Pakistan being accorded seeding in their respective groups. The tournament commences with Nepal and United Kingdom squaring up in their group B encounter at 0800 hrs on the opening day. The formal inauguration will take place in the evening at 1600 hrs following which host India plays debutants Kyrgystan.

The league matches will be completed by noon on the second day followed by the quarter finals in the evening. The semi finals and finals will be played on the concluding day in the morning and evening respectively.

Doordarshan sports will telecast the tournament live on all days and regional Sahyadri channel will also show selected matches live.

The Grouping: GROUP A: India, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan GROUP B: Iran, Nepal, United Kingdom, South Korea.

GROUP C: Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan, Afghanistan GROUP D: Pakistan, Malaysia, West Indies, Italy Top two from each group will qualify for the quarter finals.

UNI