If one thought South Korea's shocking win over defending champions India in the opening encounter of the Kabaddi World Cup was a fluke, think again. The Koreans had another happy outing on Sunday, defeating Argentina 68-42 on the third day of the tournament here.
The victory gives South Korea an edge over India and Bangladesh in Group A to qualify for the playoffs. The Koreans displaced the hosts to jump to the top of the table with 10 points from two wins from two matches. India, meanwhile, have six points from as many outings with one win and a loss.
The Koreans started the raid against debutants Argentina on Sunday, with their star man Jang Kun Lee completing a successful first attempt. On the flip side, the beginning wasn't to impressive for the Argentines, Franco Castro returning with an unsuccessful raid.
In no time thereafter, the streak of unsuccessful raids along with failed tackles continued to soar for the Argentina players, most of whom either play judo or football professionally back home.
The first half was thus a one-sided affair, with the Koreans easily tackling the Argentinian raid and gaining points every time they went into the opposition half. South Korea went into the lemon break with a huge lead of 43-11.
But much to the surprise of the crowd, the second half panned out in a different way. Argentina began playing offensively, making life difficult for the Korean defenders and within no time, came a lot closer than the Koreans would've expected.
But South Korea's humongous first-half lead meant that the gap was too much for the Argentines to cover.
Castro was the most successful raider for Argentina with 10 raid points, giving his side something to cheer about.
Results: Republic of Korea bt Argentina 68-42, Japan bt USA 45-19
