Asian Kabaddi Championships 2017: India thrash Pakistan 44-18 to top group

India ended the group stage of the Asian Kabaddi Championships 2017 in fine fashion as they recorded a 44-18 victory against arch-rivals Pakistan. With this result, they now finish top of the group after recording previous wins against Iraq, Japan and Afghanistan.

It was smooth sailing for the Indian lineup throughout the 40-minute period as they dominated proceedings and recorded a total of three all-outs. Ajay Thakur led from the front as he picked up points on a regular basis and was ably supported by the rest of the side.

India started with the duo of Surender Nada and Sandeep Narwal on the left and right corners respectively. Ajay Thakur and Maninder Singh played as the 'ins' with the corners while the third raider's role was played by Pardeep Narwal. The cover positions were manned by Surjeet and Deepak Niwas Hooda.

It was Thakur who started the proceedings and inflicted the first all-out on Pakistan with a spree of points, which also included a massive super raid. Towards the end of the first half, India extended their lead to 19-5 with Pardeep pulling off a trademark dubki on the way.

Another all-out was in store before the end of the first half for Pakistan and at the break, India led 24-8.

The second half saw Maninder Singh come to the fore and he cleaned up the opposition defence with a series of powerful raids. Three straight raids of two, three and two points each were enough to inflict the all-out as the gap in points extended to 30 points.

Towards the end, Sachin and Nitin Tomar were brought into the match and India eased their way to the win. The match ended at 44-18 in favour of the Indians, who are now expected to face South Korea in the semifinal on Sunday.