India won the first ever kabaddi World Cup with a convincing 55-27 scoreline over Iran in the final at the South Kanara Sports Club at Mumbai on Sunday.
In the one-sided contest, the hosts, who were leading 27-12 at half time, outplayed their opponents in every department of the game.
Indian skipper Sanjeeva Kumar was the architect of his team's win scoring 17 points from 16 raids while his Railways' teammate Ramesh Kumar scored seven points from as many raids to held the hosts lift the title.
The Indians, who scored seven bonus points in the first session, were limited to four bonus points in the second by the Iranians.
Local lad Shailesh Sawant was declared man-of-the-match after he played his heart out in the second session with Iran threatening to make a comeback. India's Sanjeeva Kumar was adjudged as the man-of-the-tournament.
Though Iran could not score any bonus points in the first half, they managed seven bonus points in the second.
The visitors made three substitutes bringing in Javed, Ali and Mustafa but could not stop India winning the coveted trophy in front of the home crowd in a jam packed stadium.
The winners took home Rs 2 lakh while the runners-up pursed Rs 1.25 lakh.
Results (semi-finals): India beat Bangladesh 39-19 (HT 12-5), Iran beat Canada 54-28 (HT 31-9).
Quarter-finals: Bangladesh beat Japan 33-24 (12-11), Canada beat United Kingdom 66-28 (32-11).
