Korea stunned India 34-32 in the opening Group-A league match of the Kabaddi World Cup at The Arena here on Friday.
After an impressive entertainment show marked the beginning of the event, the bronze medallist at the Incheon Asian Games scored the first point, pinning down the Indian captain Anup Kumar.
The host recovered quickly through a defensive effort, paving the way for the quick return of Anup. However, the Koreans, who came up with some terrific tackles and displayed a solid defensive technique right through the exciting 40-minute contest, earned the big points through the brilliant Jang Kun Lee who tallied nine raid points.
Though Anup was his usual self, winning nine raid points, India was quite patchy as raider Jasvir Singh could not make an impression. He was substituted in the first half. Rahul Chaudhari, too, was below par, forcing India to lean heavily on its captain.
Thanks to Anup and Manjeet Chillar’s resilience, India led 18-13 at half-time, but the inability to outwit the rivals in both attack and defence did not allow it to take a big lead.
The architects
The Koreans looked competitive and dangerous throughout, with Jang Kun Lee in the thick of action. Though he was not very successful in his raids in the first half, he won the big points in the second. What proved more crucial was defender Young Chang Ko’s performance which helped the visitors bag 11 tackle points.
Dong Geon Lee, too, played his part, winning four touch points, including a bonus while raiding.
With four of its players — Seong Ryeol Kim, Tae Deok Eom, Jang Kun Lee and Dong Ju Hong — featuring in the ProKabaddi League, the Koreans showed that they had the potential to trouble the best.
The Indians appeared quite nervous and as admitted by Anup after the match, the hosts have to improve in both attack and defence in the next set of games.
In the second match of the day, Iran hammered USA 52-15.
The results: South Korea 34 bt India 32; Iran 52 bt USA 15.
