- Scotland pulled off a major shock against the reigning champions and favourites
- No team had ever scored more than 27 against India in World Cup history
- But Scotland recovered from a sluggish start to claim an exciting 64-64 draw
Scotland pulled off a monumental shock in the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup as they came from behind to draw 64-64 with reigning champions India.
The Scots have put themselves in a strong position to qualify from Group B after also beating Wales 63-43, with games to come against Italy and Hong Kong China.
Kabaddi, a sport said to have originated in India over 4,000 years ago, is enjoying its second official World Cup after the first edition in Malaysia in 2019.
The Midlands has the honour of playing host to the tournament, in which ‘raiders’ try to score points by tagging members of the defending team.
England got their campaign off to a storming start against Hungary on Monday with a 101-25 win, but it was Scotland who took the plaudits on Tuesday.
India took a 7-4 lead quickly out of the blocks but Scotland clawed their way back into it and held a 30-29 lead at half-time.
The teams remained neck-and-neck for large swathes of the second half, but India went into the dying minutes of the game with a 62-59 advantage.
Scotland managed an impressive 64-64 draw with India in the Paddy Power Kabaddi World Cup
India were leading 62-59 in the dying minutes of the game but Scotland fought back
However, Scotland managed to get over the line at 64-64, scoring more points than any team every has against India in the World Cup.
Iraq previously held the record for scoring the most points against India in a World Cup clash as they notched 27 in the final in 2019.
Kabaddi is the second-most watched sport in India and it is estimated that around 500 million people will tune in to watch the men’s and women’s World Cups this week.
The 2025 tournament is taking place between the 17th and 23rd of March and will be held at venues in Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
Legend has it that kabaddi originated between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago in India.
In its traditional rules, the raiders – attackers who enter the opposing team’s half and attempt to tag people, without being tackled – had to chant kabbadi and not breathe.
If they needed to take a breathe and momentarily stopped chanting kabaddi, the attack was over.
