Amritsar, December 3 India defeated England and Canada beat USA in matches played at Guru Nanak Stadium here on Tuesday. The International Kabaddi Cup is being organised by the state government to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. In the first match, India trounced England 54-36. In the second match, Canada routed USA 53-26. While playing for the Indian team, Vinay Khatri was the top scorer who helped his team bag 10 points, following by Mal Singh and Navjot Jota contributing 9 points each. The team India raiders Jagmohan Makhi scored 7 points and Kanwaljit 5 points. For the England team, despite Gurdeep Singh Deepa’s 10 points, Ranjit Singh’s 8 points and Gurchetan’s 7, the team lost the match by a margin of 18 points. Earlier, Medical Education and Research Minister Om Parkash Soni was introduced to players. Speaking on the occasion, he said the Punjab government was committed to promote kabaddi. He said the game was now being played in many countries, but Punjabi’s love for it was well known. Soni extended a warm welcome to players from other countries, the majority of whom were of Punjabi origin. He said players should play for the love of game and victory and defeat should not matter much. He said apart from bigger amounts of award money in various games, the Punjab Government was also providing jobs to players for representing the state at the national and international level. On a query about the Pakistan team not participating in the cup, Soni said invites were sent to all teams and he did not know anything more about the issue. Indian team senior coach Harpreet Singh Baba said the team was in great form and they were hopeful that it would win the final match. He said many players from other teams were exhibiting a great game. Tajinder Singh Middukhera, vice-chairman of the Punjab Kabaddi Association, said the next three matches would be held at Guru Harsahai.

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