THE Coventry Building Society Arena played host to the Kabaddi World Cup – the first time the competition has taken place outside of Asia.
Coventry welcomed more than 1,000 fans and 150 athletes to the Arena.
The tournament took place across the West Midlands.
Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia.
Some five group stage matches took place at the CBS Arena including a men’s game between England and the United States of America.
England ran out comprehensive 87-20 winners on their way to topping the group.
In the other men’s matches at the Arena, Scotland beat Italy 89-33 while India overcame Hong Kong 73-21.
A couple of women’s matches also took place at the Arena as England beat Hong Kong 45-39 while India thrashed Poland 104-15.
England eventually finished as runners-up in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Coventry City owner and executive chairman, Doug King said: “It was great to be at the Kabaddi World Cup and witness at first hand such a brilliant event and a fast paced sport.
“There was a fantastic crowd in attendance at the matches and it was excellent to see the Arena being used in this way.
“We are at the heart of a diverse community and city, and through ourselves and Sky Blues in the Community we have been involved in this work towards this event, which goes back to the schools Kabaddi tournament we hosted before a game in November.
“We are working to ensure our matches are a welcoming environment for all cultures and ethnicities and as an inclusive football club we are determined to reach out to everyone in our community.”
CBS Arena managing director, Paul Michael added: “We were incredibly proud to be a host venue for the Kabaddi World Cup and it truly demonstrated how as a city we are able to engage local communities in events.
“Hosting this event was about much more than just international sport, it was about celebrating diversity and bringing communities together. The community day and match day demonstrated this, with hundreds of young people coming out across the two days to enjoy the sport of Kabaddi.
“We opened up a number of spaces to accommodate the thousands of people joining us across the two days, with our Convention Centre hosting the action itself and areas on the upper levels of the venue transforming into spaces for community activities.
“The Kabaddi World Cup highlighted yet again why Coventry is a great destination for international sport events, not only in hosting the sport itself but ensuring that it has a lasting legacy in the community.”
Across the day, the venue hosted a range of cultural and arts activities for young people, including a dance workshop and t-shirt design session.
