Bangladesh Wins Global Acclaim for Hosting Women's Kabaddi World Cup

Sports Desk, Rtv News

Publish : 25 Nov 2025, 07:00 PM

BKF Photo

The curtain came down on the Second Women's Kabaddi World Cup 2025 with a thrilling final between India and Chinese Taipei on Monday.

India, the champions of the inaugural edition, retained the title after beating Chinese Taipei 35-28 points at the Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium in Miupur.

Though the grand eight-day festival concluded, but the global Kabaddi community will carry the memory of this event for a long time. The full credit belongs to the event's patron, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Bangladesh Government, the organizers, the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation and their associated partners.

The inaugural edition of the Women's Kabaddi World Cup, held in 2012 in Patna, India, had almost died out. After a long hiatus of more than a decade (almost 13 years), the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation (BKF) resurrected the global event for women's Kabaddi players through boundless inspiration and courageous effort.

d264b9ff-9a31-49d0-be45-b0870a3ef873 — BKF Photo

"Everything was amazing. Bangladesh has organized it very well. We are really surprised to see such arrangements here. The people here are very good, cordial. And we are happy to mingle with them. I hope every country will arrange this event similar to Bangladesh's. I would like to thank the organizers. Really, it was a nice experience for us," said Asma Fakhri, a player from Iran.

Chinese Taipei took part in both editions, but with separate playing squads. Though they failed to pass the group test in the first edition, they emerged as a new powerhouse in the Women's Kabaddi World Cup this time. Former Kabaddi player David Tsai coached the team.

When asked to compare this edition with other international Kabaddi events, he replied, "The arrangements are really impressive—a world-class event. In Taiwan, Kabaddi is not a popular game; there is no support for Kabaddi in Taiwan. Bangladesh did an amazing thing. I believe it will inspire other nations to arrange such events more."

I Min Lin of Chinese Taipei, who was adjudged the Best Raider of the tournament, became emotional when asked about her experience, "The hospitality in Bangladesh surprised me a lot because it's different from what I heard in the news. There are many people; many people cheer for Bangladesh. I hope it is the same for us in Taiwan. People in Taiwan [should be] supporting them like the people in Bangladesh."

"I’ve recently completed my graduation. I want to take Kabaddi as my profession. But in Taiwan, there is no support for Kabaddi; there are no job opportunities for people who play Kabaddi," she further said.

In the second edition, a total of 11 teams from three continents—Europe (Poland, Germany), Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Zanzibar), and Asia (India, Chinese Taipei, Iran, Nepal, Thailand, and hosts Bangladesh)—took part.

Sharing experience for the first time in the Kabaddi World Cup, Kenya Captain Mercy Akinyi Obiero said, "The experience is really good here. The weather here is similar to Kenya. It feels really nice. It is like our home; our second home is Bangladesh. It is our first World Cup, [our] first biggest stage. Our goal is to have some fun here, enjoy the moment."

Another debutant team were Germany. German captain Emma Attle, who is a Sports Management student from the University of Stuttgart, shared her experience, "Pretty amazing, we were quite nervous when we entered the court. But we are really enjoying it now. Very happy to be here. Quite interesting for us, but a different arrangement."

"We have learned a lot from here. We enjoyed Kabaddi. We only started recently. Right now, there are 30-40 players. The game is only popular in two cities. In the future, perhaps Kabaddi will be practiced all over Germany. We, too, will one day be able to organise Pro Kabaddi in our country. Our girls will play. We will all become professionals," she continued.

Furthermore, the German captain expressed immense satisfaction with the warm Bangladeshi hospitality and plans to use their enriching World Cup experience to popularize the sport upon their return.

The most valuable comments regarding this event in Bangladesh were made by AKF Secretary General Muhammad Sarwar Rana.

In his own words, "The arrangements were wonderful – according to the level of a World Cup and even higher than a World Cup. Bangladesh proved that it is capable of conducting mega Kabaddi events in the future also. I highly appreciate and congratulate the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation who are doing this wonderful job. It's wonderful, amazing, no doubt. I was very happy. I couldn't think that Bangladesh could do it, but Bangladesh proved it. And they also proved themselves on both sides – from an organisational point of view as well as from team preparation. It means now the BKF is in safe hands. And really, when I saw a poster in the hotel and airport and on the venue… I learned just during this tournament that Kabaddi is the national game of Bangladesh. It means now the direction of the management who are running Kabaddi – I congratulate them, and really they have done an extraordinary job."

"I observe the difference. I was thinking it would be casual, as in the past, but it is not casual like the past. Now, the management, administration, your federation, they are working according to the latest version of Kabaddi. The level is already better than before, better than other World Cups. It is wonderful, amazing, no doubt. And I congratulate the Ministry of Sports who chose this team. Nobody could imagine that Bangladesh is capable of conducting this kind of event. But your federation has, your management, the team working behind Kabaddi in Bangladesh currently – they proved their skill, their dedication, their zeal to improve this game," he further said.

Sarwar Rana, who is also Secretary General of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF), was so impressed that he announced that the PKF will invite Bangladesh to Pakistan and also said that the Pakistan women's Kabaddi team, who missed the tournament due to the National Games, will make a tour soon.

Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh, but unfortunately, it never get such limelight as other popular sports like Cricket and Football. However, the BKF tried its best to bring fans and spectators to the stadium, so it made admission free for the city dwellers.

A group of students from one of the country's reputed educational institutions, Eden Mohila College, frequently visited the stadium to enjoy the matches. One of them, Tisha Bose, a Philosophy student, said, "We never expected it. Such a grand arrangement. Kabaddi is our national sport but it is not as popular as cricket and football. Even [so], we just knew that the women's world cup was taking place in Kabaddi. We will urge the government and local sports bodies to give their attention to our national sport."

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