Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel and International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) president J S Gehlot unveiled the logo of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in New Delhi on Wednesday. The Indian national team will compete with 11 other countries – the US, the UK, Australia, Iran, Poland, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan, Argentina and Kenya. All its matches will be held in Ahmedabad at the brand new state-of-the-art stadium, The Arena by TransStadia.

The world cup will kick off on October 7. and will be structured in such a way that the 12 international teams from across Olympic geographies will be divided into 2 pools of 6 teams each. The teams will play in a fortnight long tournament in a round robin league format, followed by semi-finals and an exciting final on October 22.

Addressing media, Vijay Goel said, “India is making significant strides towards utilising its potential in becoming a global sporting powerhouse. We had 2016 T20 Cricket World Cup in March and organised successfully South Asian Games in February 2016. And now, we are organising 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. This is yet another sporting event of an international stature and scale. It is the perfect time to highlight the giant leaps that Kabaddi has taken over the past few years to propel the sport on the path of global recognition.” “Moreover, we also will be organising BRICS Football in October 2016 and FIFA under-17 in 2017,” he added.

“I am extremely happy to see Kabaddi going global across Olympic geographies through the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup,” he added.

IKF president Janardan Singh Gehlot said, “Every successful global sport has a marquee international event. With 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, the International Kabaddi Federation aims to establish a global property for our home-grown Kabaddi. This is the most opportune moment for Kabaddi to gain much-deserved recognition and appreciation at the global stage.”

He further added, “Indian Kabaddi players made their name in domestic league but winning a World Cup is the ultimate dream of a sportsperson. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup will be a platform where every player and every country is giving their best to prove their mettle. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup will provide our players an opportunity to not only display their talent to the entire world but also take the sport itself to heights it hasn’t experienced before.”

Eminent sports expert Charu Sharma and Indian Kabaddi player Anup Kumar were present on the occasion.