India Prepare To Defend Title At Kabaddi World Cup 2025

Kabaddi World Cup 2025 Overview

Sponsored by Paddy Power and hosted by the England Kabaddi Association, the 2025 Kabaddi World Cup is the second edition of the competition and will run between March 17 and 23, featuring 16 men’s teams and eight women’s teams from across the globe. 

After the opening ceremony, a total of 48 games will be played across venues in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and Wallsall, and the tournament is expected to reach around 500 million viewers spanning all five continents. 

The men’s competition will start with four groups comprising four teams each, and the top two sides from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals to be held in Walsall on March 21. The women’s tournament will feature two groups of four teams, and the top two from each section will head directly into the semi-finals on March 23. 

India are the reigning champions, having won both the men’s and women’s competitions in the inaugural tournament in 2019. England and Scotland are also set to compete and will have home support on their side, while Pakistan and Iran are widely considered the major challengers to team India. 

Thanks to the sponsorship of Paddy Power, the Kabaddi World Cup 2025 has received a significant increase in funding of £500,000, and the tournament has been granted special streaming rights via BBC iPlayer, the Olympic Channel, DD Sports and Willow TV, among other leading broadcasters. Here are the key dates to note: 

• Wolverhampton Group Stages: 17 March - 18 March
• Coventry Group Stages: 19 March
• Birmingham Group Stages: 20 March
• Walsall Group Satges: 21 March
• Wolverhampton Semi-final: 22 March
• Wolverhampton Third-Place Match & Final: 23 March

Check out the best online betting sites for the 2025 Kabaddi World Cup!

India Squads for Kabaddi World Cup 2025

India is the favourite to win the 2025 Kabaddi World Cup, and the men’s team features some of the best players the sport has ever seen. Bhaskaran Edachery’s side have won eight of the last nine Asian Games, 10 of 11 South Asian Games, and the Dubai Kabaddi Masters in 2018. 

This year, the defending champions will be captained by Pawan Sehrawat, who plays for the Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). He is the most expensive player in PKL history, with the Titans splashing out ₹ 2.60 crore to secure his services from the Tamil Thalaivas in Season 10.

In the women’s competition, Himanchal Pradesh local Ritu Negi will lead the team as skipper, having also done so in their 2022 Asian Games triumph over Chinese Taipei. The 32-year-old was part of the team that won silver at the 2018 Asian Games and gold at the South Asian Games a year later. 

You can find more information on the Kabaddi World Cup 2025 and guidelines on how to bet on Kabaddi right here on SportyTrader!

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