The Indian Kabaddi team has won their 8th title in the Asian Kabaddi Championship, beating Iran by a margin of 10 points, 42-32. The tournament was held after a gap of six long years in Busan, Republic of Korea. It followed a single-legged round-robin format and featured six countries: India, Iran, Hong Kong, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and the Republic of Korea.
India faced Hong Kong hours before the finals beating them emphatically by a score of 64-20, while Iran also faced Japan in their final league game before the final, winning the game 71-13. India and Iran faced off a day before the final in a ‘virtual final’, where India edged out a close contest by 33-28.
India won all 5 of their round-robin matches, even beating Iran once before the finals. The team finished top of the standings with 10 points and scored a whopping 288 points while only conceding 97 points to the opposition. The finals, as expected, were set up between India and Iran where India comfortably defeated Iran, for the second time in the tournament. The classic rivalry between India and Iran has seen India win almost every time, and this was no different.
Team Captain Pawan Sehrawat, along with Aslam Inamdar, and Arjun Deshwal led the Indian attack by accumulating 26 points combined. Iran was all out on 3 different occasions in the match.
This victory could prove to be a huge confidence booster for the Indian team as the team gets prepared for the Asian Games this September and for the Kabaddi World Cup next year. The team mainly had youngsters and new faces for the Asian Championship and this win will definitely help them grow.
