Kabaddi World Cup 2011 with colourful closing ceremony at Ludhiana LUDHIANA: The scintillating closing ceremony of 2nd World Cup Kabaddi closed the 20 day long sports extravaganza in which 14 countries for men section and 4 countries in women section had vied for Rs 4.11 crore prize money kitty. Australia and USA teams were disqualified as most of their players were found dope positive by NADA.
The closing ceremony began with an impressive police and army band presentation in the fully floodlit newly upgraded Guru Nanak Stadium of Ludhiana as whole Punjab seemed to have descended in the stadium to witness the fiercest encounter between India and Canada besides to have glimpse of bollywood icons Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangda Singh. The stadium seemed to be overflowing with double the strength of standing on the gates of stadium and enjoying the whole program on the big screens.
As light and sound show set the stage for closing ceremony the countdown video of 20 day long sports extravaganza recalled the every moment of this momentous tournament that has brought traditional game of Punjab Kabaddi on the world stage. The video screen down four mega screens relived the excitement of wins and trauma of losses and showed the evolvement of World Cup Kabaddi tournament to this exciting stage of finals. The audio visual program gave an overview of progress made by Punjab in various fields and initiatives of SAD-BJP government in strengthening the infrastructure besides initiatives in the fields of education, governance reforms and steps like Right to Service Act. As the video recalled the history, the whole sky of Ludhiana was filled with memorable fireworks.
As the evening warmed up, 'Jai Ho'-beautifully choreographed dance- gave a new energy to the audience with 295 dancers made beautiful patterns, intermingling with each-other and making a new figure every other second like ameba. The beautifully choreographed moving figures dance besides warming up the proceedings reflected the inherent strength of art and culture of Punjab.
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal thanked the teams and organisers of all the participating countries for making this grand event a success and taking Kabaddi to international arena. Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal said that his dream to take Kabaddi to Olympic level was near completion and he was hoping to take Kabaddi in Brazil Olympic in 2016. He said that SAD-BJP government has provided record number of jobs to players in every department as he had strictly imposed the condition of 3% job quota for them. He said that Rs 200 crore spent on 14 stadiums would have a cascading effect on the level of sports as players would get world class infrastructure in every game.
The closing ceremony reached its pinnacle as Akshay Kumar entered the stadium riding on macho bike. As he had a round of stadium on motorcycle and performed aerobics by riding on the motorcycle, he proved to the spectators that he does not need any duplicate to perform his most difficult stunts. Leaving the script behind, Akshay jump from motorcycle and rushed towards audience and showed them his grip on modern dance. As he performed on the beats of famous international Punjabi Band-RDB and gave his performance on 'Desi Boyz'. Performing on the song of 'Singh Is King', Akshay Kumar along with Deepika Padukone and Chitrangda Singh set the whole stadium on fire. Deepika clad in yellowish Punjabi suit and Chitrangda in white suit spoke in chaste Punjabi giving the message that how they love the outward going quality of Punjabis. Akshay introduced his new heroine Chitrangda to the masses and hoped that Punjabis would like his new movie Desi Boyz as they had liked ‘Singh Is King’. As Akshay accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal had a round of whole stadium in an open Mercedes, the joy of audience knew no bounds.
As six-a-side laser beam show created a dream scene in the stadium, the closing ceremony of World Cup Kabaddi rewrote a chapter in the sports history, making people wait for third edition of World Cup Kabaddi.
On this occasion Pakistan’s Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Sujat Hussain, Former Information and Sports Minister Chaudhary Nisar Hussain, Pakistan Punjab’s Former Education Minister Mian Imran Masood, Acting Ambassador of Germany Ford Millard, Punjab Cabinet Minister Tikshan Sud along with his several Cabinet colleagues, Members of Parliament Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Balwinder Singh Bhunder were also present.
