That India has been at the forefront in promoting kabaddi globally is undisputed. The success of this effort has been seen amply in the huge popularity of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), which draws big money and the best talent from all over.

The final proof came on Thursday as one of the greatest streaks in sport came to an end as India lost 18-27 to Iran in the men’s semi-final. The PKL has seen Iranian players like Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani, who play for Telugu Titans.

International sport has seldom seen a streak like seven successive gold medals that the Indian men’s kabaddi team had at the Asian Games since 1990, when the sport was introduced in Beijing in 1990.

The Indian hockey team’s six-gold streak from 1928 to 1956 was interrupted only by the World War II.There have been individual streaks by the likes of Edwin Moses (122 hurdles races between 1977 and 1987) or Jahangir Khan’s 555-match streak in squash between 1981 and 1985 or even Boston Celtics eight straight NBA titles from 1959 to 1966. There are also the easier-to-understand 16-Test match winning streaks by Australia from October 1999 to February 2001 and again December 2005 to January 2008. There have been similar streaks by Michael Johnson in 200m and 400m, too.But When it comes to a span of time, the 28-year-streak by the Indian hockey team or the 20-year-streak by Australians in Commonwealth Games hockey, could only be matched by Indian men’s streak in kabaddi at the Asian Games from 1990 to 2014. The kabaddi streak ended on August 23 when Iran shut India out of the final for the first time. The Indians had lost to South Korea in the league but the final back-breaker came in the semis, when they lost to the 2010 and 2014 silver medallists, Iran.

The Indian team was under a cloud even before they left the Indian shores. The selection was questioned and the matter was taken to court, following which the Delhi High Court ordered that the players selected for Jakarta should not be given any benefits which may come their way after winning a medal or representing India at the Asiad. They would first need to prove their merit in trial games on September 15 at Thyagraj Stadium in Delhi.

The trial games will see the ‘Jakarta’ team take on another team comprising players ‘perceived to be good enough’ to be a part of the Indian kabaddi team and those perceived to be unfairly denied an opportunity to represent India at the Asian Games. These teams will be picked by a panel of three which is to be determined by the Sports Ministry.

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