The matches on the fourth day of Dr B R Ambedkar 6th World Cup Kabaddi 2016 were held today at Shaheed Jathedar Dalbir Singh Ranike Memorial Sports Stadium at village Ranike of Amritsar district. This is the first time that Ranike village, located near the Indo-Pak border, hosted the World Cup Kabaddi matches and the matches were held in a jam packed stadium.A total of four matches, two each from men and women section, were played today. In men section, Iran scored their second consecutive victory of the World Cup Kabaddi by defeating Australia by 57-31 and USA defeated Kenya by 55-31 in the second match from this section. In women section, USA defeated Sierra Leone by 37-28 and in second match of this section, Sri Lanka defeated Mexico by 38-24.For today's matches, Cabinet Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike was the chief guest. Mr Ranike remained present during all the matches held throughout the day and welcomed the teams for their visit to Ranike.
BOX: MATCH 1: MEN SECTION: IRAN DEFEAT AUSTRALIA BY 57-31:
In the first match of the day, Iran scored their second consecutive victory by defeating Australia by 57-31 in the Pool B match. By half time, the Iran team was leading by 28-16 and the Iran players maintained lead right from the start of the match. For Iran, raiders Javdi and Nadafi Khalid scored 7 points each and stoppers, Safari Amad Alireza secured 5 points for their team. For Australia, raiders Raj Kumar and Amarjit Singh scored 7 points each and stopper Buta Singh secured 4 points.
BOX: MATCH 2: MEN SECTION: USA DEFEAT KENYA BY 55-31:
In the second match of the day and from Pool B, USA defeated Kenya by 55-31 in their first match of the world cup. For USA, raiders Parminder Singh, Harnek Singh and Jatinder Singh scored 7 points each and stopper Navpreet Singh Johal secured 7 points for his team. For Kenya, Makaga Hollis secured 7 points and stopper Robert secured 3 points.
BOX: MATCH 3: WOMEN SECTION: USA DEFEAT SIERRA LEONE BY 37-28:
In the third match of the day and from Pool B, USA eves defeated Sierra Leone by 37-28. USA captain Guramrit Kaur Khalsa scored 12 points and Illian scored 6 points and stopper Fobo secured 9 points. For Sierra Leone, raider Kontah Ramtu scored 7 points and stopper Kite Janebo secured 4 points.
BOX: MATCH 4: WOMEN SECTION: SRI LANKA DEFEAT MEXICO BY 36-24:
In the last match of the day, Sri Lanka team defeated Mexico by 36-24. The Sri Lankan eves scored their first victory of the World Cup and won hearts of all spectators with their game. For Sri Lanka, raiders P Kayiman scored 7 and Damyanti scored 4 points and stoppers Padamasri and Vijaytho secured 6 and 5 points respectively. For Mexico, raider Eva Alexandra and Anna scored 4 points each and stopper Christa secured 7 points for her team.This is for the first time that matches of World Cup Kabaddi were held just around 2.5 kilometers from the Indo-Pak border at Ranike village. The border area residents were very enthusiastic about the matches and were present in large numbers in Shaheed Jathedar Dalbir Singh Ranike Memorial Sports Stadium, Ranike. While speaking on the occasion, Cabinet Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike said that it is only due to the efforts of Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janta Party led Punjab government that Kabaddi has become an international sport, with several nations including Iran, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Kenya, Sierra Leone, USA, Australia, participating in the sixth edition of World Cup Kabaddi. He also thanked Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal for promoting all sports in the state and for choosing Ranike for hosting today’s matches of this mega sporting event. The main attraction of the day was the participation of students from the Miri Piri Khalsa Academy, who had come in large numbers today.