India emerged champions of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 by beating Iran in the final in Busan, Korea on Friday.
Iran started aggressively, but India stood tall in the all-important final. Pawan Sehrawat, the captain, helped India inflict the first all-out with two touch points and took the score to 10-4. India kept building pressure on the Iranians and produced another all-out. At the end of the first half, India led the final by 23-11.
The Iranian all-rounder, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, tried to make a comeback for the Iranian side in the second half; however, they ended up conceding another all-out, trailing by 33-14. The two teams were giving it their all in this high-voltage encounter, but India managed to defend their title with a 42-32 win over Iran.
To start the fourth and final day, India made a few changes to their starting 7 and rested a few of their top players, such as Pawan Sehrawat and Aslam Inamdar, in their last league game. The strong Indian team managed to inflict an early all-out. The defending champions kept raising the bar and made it difficult for the opposition to earn points. Hong Kong succumbed under pressure, and at the end of the first half, India proved to be a far superior side.
The Indian raiders and defenders worked in tandem and continued to build the pressure. Hong Kong tried their best to show some resistance. They improved their game in the second half, but it just wasn’t enough against the Indian team. India continued their winning streak and completed a clean sweep in the league matches with a 64-20 scoreline against Hong Kong.
Iran had beaten Japan with a scoreline of 71-13 in their last league match to book a berth in the final.
11th Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 Final Standings:
- India
- Iran
- Chinese Taipei
This is India’s eight Asian Kabaddi title, with Iran winning only on one occassion.