The Kabaddi World Cup came to a spectacular climax in Wolverhampton over the weekend.

Sell out crowds packed into WV Active Aldersley on Saturday and Sunday to watch the semi finals and finals of the competition which was being hosted outside of Asia for the first time ever.

England, Scotland and Wales were involved in the action as well as tournament favourites India who ended up winning both the men’s and women’s competitions.

The finals brought a week of action to a close, with Wolverhampton joining Coventry, Birmingham and Walsall in hosting the competition across the region.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Resident Services, said the event had been a triumph for Wolverhampton and West Midlands.

He said: “There’s only one word to describe the Kabaddi World Cup and that is ‘wow’.

“From start to finish the event has been a triumph for everyone involved. It’s been a celebration of different cultures and communities and its legacy will be the impact on local school children and everyone who had the chance to experience it first hand.

“Wolverhampton has had fantastic exposure on TV with the whole world watching and it has been brilliant to see what we have achieved together as a city.”

The first match on finals day was a feisty affair between Wales and Scotland for the men’s third place, with Scotland coming out as the winners 67-56. 

The women’s final then followed with a match between India and England in which India were crowned champions, with a dominant display throughout and a scoreline of 57-34.

The men’s final was the last game and an entertaining affair with India starting strong but then with England putting up a real fight in the second half to close the gap in the scoreline, the match finishing 44-41.

The event was then capped off by the closing ceremony which saw the first, second and third placed nations collect their medals and India lift the World Cup for both their men’s and women’s teams.  

British Kababbi League Chief Executive Prem Singh said: “We are honoured to have played a role in this historic moment - hosting the first Kabaddi World Cup outside of Asia.

“The positive impact of this tournament has been evident through the incredible support from our community, fans filling the venues, engaging across social media and tuning in via broadcasters around the world. We hope this event has contributed to the sport’s long term legacy and helped showcase Kabaddi’s power to bring unite and inspire people.”

The tournament was supported by £500,000 of funding support from the UK Government’s Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund.