DHAKA, May 6, 2024 (BSS)- The 4th edition of prestigious Bangabandhu Cup Int'l Kabaddi tournament will be held from May 26 to June 3 at Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in the city's Mirpur, said a press release.

The tournament, named after the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, of Bangladesh has been organizing since 2021 in regular basis. Due to the regularity, this competition of Bangladesh has been included in the calendar of the International Kabaddi Federation.

Host Bangladesh will participate with eleven foreign teams from the three continents of Europe, Africa and Asia.

Poland of Europe, Kenya of Africa and South Korea of Asia, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Nepal and hosts Bangladesh will compete in the meet.

South Korea, Japan and Thailand and Asian kabaddi superpower Pakistan will participate for the first time in the tournament, said DMP commissioner and tournament committee member secretary Habibur Rahman after the meeting was held today (Monday)at DMP headquarters.

Habibur Rahman, who is also general secretary of the kabaddi federation, said Argentina, England and Chinese Taipei will not take part in the tournament this time.

The foreign teams are expected to arrive on May 23 and 24 while the groupings and fixtures will be held in the managers meeting on May 25.

BKF joint secretary and technical committee chairman Gazi Md. Mozammel Haque said the federation has plan to make the fourth edition of the Bangabandhu Cup int'l kabaddi tournament a colorful one on occasion of the federation's fifty years of founding anniversary this year. The federation will hold a kabaddi festival across the country.

Earlier, six teams participated in the first edition of the tournament while eight teams took part in the second edition held in 2022.

Twelve teams participated in the last edition of the meet held in 2023.

Bangladesh emerged champions in all three editions, led by Bangladesh kabaddi team skipper Tuhin Tarafdar.