Crowds wowed as Kabbadi World Cup brings exciting action to Coventry Building Society Arena

Coventry welcomed the world’s best kabaddi players and thousands of passionate fans as the sport’s biggest tournament was held in the UK for the first time.

Coventry Building Society Arena hosted more than 1,000 fans and 150 athletes for a full-day of exciting and fast-paced action in the Kabaddi World Cup on Wednesday, March 19.

The tournament is taking place across the West Midlands from March 17 to 23. It’s the first time the championships have been hosted outside Asia.

It is the latest in a line of international sporting events to be held in the city and at its premier venue for live sport, Coventry Building Society Arena.

Five group matches were played in Coventry, including three men’s matches, highlighted by host nation England’s clash against the USA.

England’s men ran out comfortable winners against the US to make it three wins from three in Group A while India cruised past Hong Kong to leave themselves in a healthy position in Group B.

The day also saw two women’s games held with England edging past Hong Kong in Group E and India thrashing Poland by 104 points to 15 in a one-sided Group D affair.

The tournament was held in the Commonwealth Convention Centre at Coventry Building Society Arena, with the halls transformed into an elite arena for kabbadi.

Across the day, the venue hosted a range of cultural and arts activities for young people to enjoy, including a dance workshop and t-shirt design session.

A free schools festival took place at Coventry Building Society Arena the day before action got underway in the world cup, with the event including a tournament for teams from 14 Coventry schools, cultural activities and performances from local groups.

The activity was supported by Sky Blues in the Community and United by 2022.

Cllr Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport at Coventry City Council, said: “It’s been fantastic to see the Kabaddi World Cup at Coventry Building Society Arena – it’s such a vibrant and exciting event that’s dominated the West Midlands over recent days.

“Coventry is known for hosting major sporting events, and this is yet another example of how we continue to attract global competitions that showcase our city on the international stage.

“Events like this not only provide fantastic entertainment and boost the local economy, but they give us the opportunity to engage with the community through sport by hosting workshops and tournaments with our partners in the city.”

Paul Michael, Managing Director at Coventry Building Society Arena, said it was a great opportunity to welcome new audiences to the venue and to again provide the backdrop for elite international sport.

“We were incredibly proud to be a host venue for the Kabaddi World Cup and it truly demonstrated how as a city we are able to engage local communities in events,” he said.

“Hosting this event was about much more than just international sport, it was about celebrating diversity and bringing communities together. The community day and match day demonstrated this, with hundreds of young people coming out across the two days to enjoy the sport of kabaddi.

“We opened up a number of spaces to accommodate the thousands of people joining us across the two days, with our Convention Centre hosting the action itself and areas on the upper levels of the venue transforming into spaces for community activities.

“The Kabaddi World Cup highlighted yet again why Coventry is a great destination for international sport events, not only in hosting the sport itself but ensuring that it has a lasting legacy in the community.”

The women’s team from England beat Hong Kong in a tense Group E encounter.

England’s men hammered the USA on day three of the Kabbadi World Cup at Coventry Building Society Arena.