TEHRAN – President of Iran Kabaddi Federation Abbas Avarsaji says that the country has the potential to lead kabaddi in the Asia or the world.

The president of the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) Janardan Singh Gehlot died in late April and the seat has been left vacant since then.

Averseji, who is among one of the seven IKF vice-presidents, has shown interest in leading the international federation.

“First of all, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to the family of kabaddi due to demise of Mr. Gehlot. He helped the sport attracts interest from the people around the world. Now, the federation needs to continue the way has started and I think Iran has the potential to lead the sport in Asia or in the world,” Avarsaji told Tehran Times.

“Kabaddi has been played for hundreds of years in Iran. Iranian teams have shown how strong they are. In the 2018 Asian Games, men’s and women’s team won the title. It shows that we can lead the sport and the other members of the kabaddi federation have shown their satisfaction with us.

“Mr. Gehlot was heading the Asian and world federation at the same time but I believe that the Asia and world federations must be headed separately,” he added.

“We want to get Kabaddi into the Olympics because the sport has grown around the world over the past years. Iran’s Sports Ministry and National Olympic Committee have supported us to have a seat in Asia or in the world. Iran deserves to lead the Asian or world federation given its current position,” Avarsaji went on to say.