Chandigarh, Feb 22 (IANS) Giving a much needed boost to India's traditional sport, the Punjab government will organise the 2010 Kabaddi World Cup tournament next month, officials said Monday. The winning team will get a prize of Rs.1 crore.

The state government is all set to organise this world cup on a very large scale and is expecting teams from countries like Britain, the US, Pakistan, Iran, Italy, Canada and Australia.

"The Kabaddi World Cup will begin around the end of March and continue till the first week of April. Punjab has given gradation to Kabaddi which was denied to it for the past 62 years," said state Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the Punjab sports minister.

He added: "To uplift this traditional sport of Punjab and to boost the morale of players, the state government has announced Rs.1 crore in prize money for the winner and Rs.50 and 25 lakh respectively for the first and second runner up teams."

In a bid to ensure live telecast of matches, the Punjab sports department has already invited expression of interest from TV channels.

The Kabbadi World Cup is scheduled from March 31 to April 10. The matches will be held at eight different cities of Punjab, sources in the state sports department told IANS. The final match will be played at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana, the industrial hub of the state.