India – The King of Kadabbi

A1. World of SportsLook at the groups of words given below. Try to decide in which sport all four words are used. Then try to add a word of your own to each group. You may ask your partner’s help.

1. Table, net, backhand, bat …..2. Ring, ropes, corner, bell …..3. Board, square, pawns, queen….4. Racket, shuttlecock, smash, lob …5. Bow, arrow, target, bull…..

A2. Guess the sports!Read the following sentences from newspaper reports on sports. Guess which sport is being referred to in each sentence.

Cricket Golf Tennis Sports Kabaddi

1. The Serbs won their first Davis Cup title last year with a 3-2 win over France in the Belgrade arena.

2. Kunal Bhasin shot a 69 to make the cut at one-under for 36 holes. He has had 11 birdies in two days but also given away nine bogeys and one double bogey.

3. Lancashire won their first English championship title since 19344 when they defeated Somerset by eight wickets on the final day of the country season.

4. Preeja and Kavita won the 10,000 m, gold and silver medals respectively, at last November’s Asian Games in China.

5. Rakesh displayed his skills as an acrobatic and quick raider as he foxed the Pakistani defenders on numerous occasions.

A3. Type of TextLook at the text and find out what type of text it is. Later on share with the class the reason what helps you to reach to the decision.

a. A reportb. A letterc. A news itemd. A story

A4. Read and checkRead the text and check whether the following statements are true or false.

1. Rakesh foxed the Pakistani defenders on numerous occasions.2. Indian team had won silver medal at Bangkok Asian Games.3. Pakistani supporters had gathered in huge number anticipating a gold

winning effort from their team.4. Pakistan team manager Mohammed Saqid Khan blamed India’s technical

superiority.5. Pakistan had beaten India only once in the 1993s at Games in Dhaka.

India: The King of Kabaddi

Date of publication: Friday, 8 December, 2006 at 12.03 AM Doha TimeBy Chris Hoover.

As expected India continued their dominance in Kabaddi and clinched their fifth consecutive gold in the Asian Games, when they defeated Pakistan 35-23 in the final at the Aspire Hall yesterday.

The Kumars, Rakesh and Naveen played a stellar role in the victory with brilliant tactics. Rakesh displayed his skills as an acrobatic and quick raider as he foxed the Pakistani defenders on numerous occasions, much to the delight of the Indian supporters who had gathered in huge numbers anticipating a gold winning effort from their team.

Naveen was equally spectacular as he raided the Pakistan side with success to gain valuable points for India. Though Pakistan fought back with defenders

Wasim Sajjad, who tried his best to bring his team back into the game, it was to no avail as the Indians stamped their authority on the match.

India went into the break at 21-44, although they should have led by much more. Pakistan unable to penetrate the Indian defence were quite content to rely on the bonus points as they took six bonus points to India’s three in the first half.

With a lead of seven points, India had a task on hand to maintain the lead as the game resumed for the final session. It was here that Naveen came to India’s rescue with brilliant evasive tactics to keep Pakistan at bay. Though Pakistan tried as hard as they could, the Bangkok Asian games silver medalist found the Indian defence hard to crack.

After the victory, a jubilant India coach Janardhan Uday Kumar said: “It was a victory of our strategy. We played offensively in the beginning though Pakistan expected us to play otherwise. As the match progressed we settled down and played a defensive game. We wanted to play safe as we had made a few mistakes in the pool matches. We did not want to repeat those mistakes.

“This victory is something special because we have beaten Pakistan time and gain.

Pakistan had beaten us only once in the 1993 SAF Games in Dhaka and it is great to continue our dominance over them. We are happy to be the best and this is a proud moment for all of us.” Uday Kumar added.

Following another drubbing by their neighbours, Pakistan team manager Mohammed Saqid Khan praised India’s technical superiority. “India technically outplayed us. We did our best but made some mistakes at crucial time which proved costly in the end. The players were excited and they found it difficult to stay focused.”

Glossary and Notes:Clinched confirmed or settled finallyStellar of a starFoxed tricked by cunning devicesTo no avail with no successPenetrate make a way into or through somethingEvasive not direct or straightforwardSAF Games South Asian Federation Games. Afghanistan,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan

and Sri Lanka are the participant countries in the SAF Games.

Drubbing sound beating

A5. Read the extract again and offer discussing with your partner answer the following questions.

1. How many times did India win gold medals in the Asian games in Kabaddi?2. Who foxed the Pakistani defenders?3. Who was Janardhan Uday Kumar?4. What were Pakistan team manager’s reactions at the final result?5. What is special about the game of Kabaddi?6. What skills are required for playing Kabaddi?

A6. PhrasesLook at the following phrases taken from the text. Considering their meaning use them in the following sentences.[play a stellar role, to no avail, to rely on, a task on hand, settle down, keep at bay ]

1. In the Indian English team’s victory at the Lords the captain _______.2. A true sportsman is one who believes in grit determination, hard work and

does ____. 3. A player plays his game putting his heart and soul into it, _____ all other

mercenary considerations.4. I tried to persuade her to take up cycling again after her accident, but _____.5. After the tournament, I turned my attention towards the ______ i.e. giving

away the prizes.6. Once you _____ in a particular sport it is difficult to change to a different

one.

A7. Work in pairs. Discuss what evidence there is in the passage for the following statements. Find out the lines.

1. India showed predominance in the game of Kabaddi.2. Rakesh fooled the Pakistani defenders.3. The Indian supporters expected a bright success from their team.4. According to the Indian coach it was a victory of their own skillful planning.

5. Pakistan had won silver medal at Bangkok Asian Games.

A8. VocabularyComplete the following paragraph from a school sports report by using proper words/phrases from the text.The sports were held on the play-ground.There were a number of competitors.Meenakshi of Std. IX ….. the title for the Best Player…. She …. Her skills in every event. She took part in. however; Priya of Std. X was also …. as she …. in athletics. Team of Std. IX continued their … in hockey. The opponent team of Std. X was defeated though they tried …. They could. For the winners it was …………

A9. Odd man outRead the following words ending in – play – which of them are related to sports? Look up a dictionary if you want.airplay, byplay, counter play, display, downplay, gunplay, horseplay, interplay, misplay, nonplay, outplay, overplay, underplay, wordplay

A10. InterviewThe winning captain has been invited to your school. Frame about ten questions to interview him.Use some of the following ideas:

Use wh-questions, use Past tense, pay attention to punctuation marks, clarity, variety of questions…..

Points: congratulations, practice, hardships, challenges, message ……

A11. Finding Facts.Visit the web sites on Kabaddi and show more about Kabaddi – its rule and regulations.

A12. ComprehensionGlance through the text again and complete the following table:

Particulars ObservationsReasons for victory

StrategyQualities in the players

Do you know?Soon Kabaddi is going to get place in Olympic Games!

A13. DebateGames originated in India / Indigenous games are superior.Form two groups of your class. Discuss on the Indian originated games and the foreign games. Make use of the following points. Arrange for a debate. Points to debate:

Benefits of the games Instruments used Money involved Time required for playing Space needed

LOBBY - SITTING BLOCK – END LINE – BAULK LINE -MISLINE - BAULK LINE - END LINE - SAITTING BLOCKSIDE LINE

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