India exploit Iran's weak flank to clinch record-extending fourth Asian Games kabaddi gold

NAGOYA: India refused to surrender their Asian Games women's kabaddi crown, exposing Iran's weak flank and then holding their nerve in a tense finish to clinch a record-extending fourth gold with a 37-34 victory in the final here on Saturday.

The win extended India's dominance in women's kabaddi, with the team now having won gold at all five editions since the sport made its Asian Games debut at Guangzhou 2010, except in 2018 when Iran ended their run in the Jakarta final.

Iran have emerged as India’s toughest rivals in a sport that is increasingly looking towards an Olympic future, but on Saturday their relative inexperience proved costly.

India had already beaten Iran in the group stage and, in that encounter, had identified a weakness they would return to when the stakes were much higher -- the left flank.

Raiders Nikita, captain Pooja and Sanju Devi repeatedly attacked from that side, and the strategy paid dividends.

The tall, athletic Iranians had the technique and the physical presence to trouble India, but their lack of experience at this level showed when India consistently found openings on the left.

India began briskly, moving 3-1 ahead and reducing Iran to three players. But the Iranians refused to be overwhelmed.

Their youthful energy kept them in the contest and they fought back to level the scores at 7-7, with a succession of TV reviews underlining just how fiercely contested the opening exchanges were.

India's raiding was not at its most fluent in the first half, but its defence compensated.

Skipper Pooja led from the front with her aggression and composure, while Nikita and Pooja provided the crucial points in attack.

India eventually secured their only all-out of the first half with six minutes remaining and went into the break with a 22-16 advantage.

Iran came out with renewed purpose after the interval. Atena Madadi and Aynaz Faramarzi repeatedly tested the Indian defence with quick hand and foot movements, sharp body feints and raids that produced crucial takedowns.

India, meanwhile, suffered an anxious moment when Nikita, their most effective raider on the day, was pinned after a raid went futile and had to receive treatment on court.

She recovered quickly and returned, but Iran had sensed an opening.

The Iranians mounted a swift comeback and an all-out brought them within one point at 28-27, suddenly transforming what had looked like an Indian-controlled contest into a tense finish.

That was when India's experience became decisive. Most of the Indian players had also featured at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 and knew how to handle the pressure of a final.

Rather than panic, they tightened their defence, became more conservative in their approach and forced Iran to take greater risks.

The strategy worked.

India steadily rebuilt its advantage, moving to 37-31 with just a minute remaining.

Iran threw everything into their final raids and managed to cut the deficit to 37-34, but India had already done enough.

The final hooter brought relief and celebration as India completed another successful defence of their Asian Games crown and the team took a victory lap before chants of “Vande Mataram” rent the arena.

“Iran are always a tough competitor when we play against them, and we knew we were in for a fight despite us beating them in the group game here," said kabaddi stalwart from Maharashtra Sonali Shingate.

"We attacked them from the weak left flank and that helped us negate them.”

Shingate, a right-flank player, spent most of the final on the bench as India repeatedly targeted Iran from the left.

It was a telling illustration of India's approach: they had identified Iran's weakness, trusted their experienced raiders to exploit it and, when the pressure mounted, relied on the composure that comes from having been in this position before.