Kabaddi World Cup set to kickoff in January 2025

The tournament is set to be played after 8 years gap.

The Kabaddi World Cup will return after a gap of nine years as the International Kabaddi Federation has decided to host the event in early 2025. There have been three editions of the Men’s World Cup in 2004, 2007 & 2016 with India hosting all three editions. The inaugural edition of the Women’s World Cup happened in 2016.

The previous edition saw twelve teams namely India, Iran, Australia, USA, Kenya, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, England, Thailand, and Argentina participate in it. The Hosts India along with Iran, South Korea, and Thailand qualified for the semifinals. India won the World Cup beating Iran in the closely-contest final.

In all three editions, India lifted the trophy with Iran coming second on all occasions. The fourth edition of the World Cup is set to happen in the early part of 2025. PKL 11 is set to return to its original window of July – October. Star Sports is not only the host broadcaster but also played a key role in the starting of the Pro Kabaddi League.

They will be coordinating with the organizers to ensure teams get enough opportunities to prepare for the World Cup at the same time allow viewers to enjoy the World Cup. Star Sports which has got back the hosting rights of India – Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy, will be prioritizing the series as it is one of the marquee events in the cricket calendar.

The Series is set to happen from the 22nd of November to the 7th of January. 2025 also marks the return of Champions Trophy in Cricket and it is scheduled to happen in February – March Window. Looking at these schedules, January presents the best opportunity to host the Kabaddi World Cup. It also gives enough rest for the players to prepare for the event after a grueling PKL season.

India has played host to all the World Cups till now and might host this edition as well. There are also reports suggesting that Wolverhampton might also have bid for hosting the World Cup. England has taken up the sport of Kabaddi seriously with some of their players quitting their jobs and have come to India to improve the game before the World Cup.

Hosting a World Cup would boost the popularity of the game in the country. While India starts as favorite for the World Cup, it won’t be easy for the defending champions as Iran is a quality team. Given the history between these two including the controversy-filled Asian Games final, the Iranians would want to lift the trophy. This edition of the World Cup will be interesting to see.

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