The Worldwide Kabaddi Federation (IKF) on Wednesday declared that the World Cup being held in London will not be an “authorised” occasion and requested the game’s Indian apex physique to behave towards the crew that had gone to participate within the event.
Kabaddi’s world physique declares World Cup in UK ‘unauthorised'(@WolvesCouncil/X)
Kabaddi World Cup 2025 is being held within the West Midlands from March 17 to 23. The event is being hosted by the England Kabaddi Affiliation and the British Kabaddi League (BKL) below the aegis of World Kabaddi Federation, a parallel worldwide governing physique of the game.
“The ongoing so-called Kabaddi World Cup 2025 in the UK conducted under the aegis of the so-called World Kabaddi Federation has not been authorized by the International Kabaddi Federation, that is the international governing body for the sport of Kabaddi as recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA),” the IKF stated in a press release.
“The OCA, the IKF, and the Asian Kabaddi Federation (AKF) also oversee and supervise the conduct of the medal competition of kabaddi for men and women at the Asian Games since 1990, and other international kabaddi tournaments.”
The same incident occurred in 2020 when an ‘Indian crew’ had visited Pakistan to participate in a Kabaddi World Cup even because the Novice Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) and the sports activities ministry stated that that they had not cleared any crew for the event.
Curiously, the AKFI was suspended by the IKF in 2024 because the Indian federation was not having an elected physique since 2018. A court-appointed administrator, (retd) Justice SP Garg, has been overseeing the organisation for greater than 5 years now.
Just lately, the Supreme Court docket had requested Garg handy over the AKFI administration to an elected physique.
The IKF is headed by India’s Vinod Kumar Tiwari who was elected in 2022 for a four-year time period.
The IKF stated that the Indian crew that had gone for the Kabaddi World Cup in the UK was not despatched by the AKFI, the nationwide physique of the game.
“The OCA, IKF, AKF, and the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) have no dealings or engagement with the so-called World Kabaddi Federation or any of its activities.
“IKF has been communicated by AKFI, that the so-called India crew on the so-called Kabaddi World Cup in United Kingdom doesn’t have any sanction or recognition from the AKFI, that’s the formally acknowledged custodian physique of the game of kabaddi in India.
“IKF will further request AKFI to exercise its mandate to suitably and justly deal with the supposed India team in the so-called Kabaddi World Cup in the United Kingdom, including participation in the kabaddi competition and events that are conducted under its custodianship in India.”
The worldwide physique additionally knowledgeable that “no national kabaddi federation that participates in the kabaddi medal discipline at the Asian Games is participating in this event (Kabaddi World Cup in London).
“The groups allegedly (mis) representing such nations on the ongoing so-called Kabaddi World Cup in the UK wouldn’t have any sanction from the related NSFs for Kabaddi.”