Sports Reporter:
Bangladesh finished third in the 2nd Women’s Kabaddi World Cup following a 25-18 points defeat against Chinese Taipei in the second semi-final on Sunday (23 November) at the Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium in Mirpur.
Bangladesh had finished fifth at the inaugural Women’s World Cup in Patna in 2012.
This time Bangladesh finished third due to their lesser-point-margin defeat in the semi-finals compared to Iran. While Iran had lost the first semi-final to India by a 12-point margin, Bangladesh’s defeat to Chinese Taipei was by seven points – allowing the hosts to finish two places higher than their position in the first edition.
Bangladesh captain Rupali Akter, playing the final international match of her career, failed to score in her opening raid. Smriti Akter then conceded a point through a tackle, giving Chinese Taipei an early lead. Bangladesh opened their account in the third minute with a bonus point and wasted little time in responding. In the eighth minute, a successful raid from Sraboni Mallik put the hosts ahead 5-4.
Chinese Taipei, who were eliminated in the group stage of the inaugural edition, have shown dominance throughout this tournament. The Group B champions ended the first half leading 9-8. The margin could have been wider, but Bangladesh pulled off a superb tackle just before the interval to reduce the deficit.
