Asian Games 2023 kabaddi: India women down South Korea 56-23 for first win in Hangzhou
Pushpa and Pooja Hathwala scored a super 10 each for the Indian women’s kabaddi team. India will play Thailand in their final group match on Wednesday.
The Indian women’s kabaddi team got its first win at the Asian Games 2023 after getting the better of the Republic of Korea 56-23 at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday.
Pooja Hathwala, who top scored for the Indian kabaddi team against Chinese Taipei in the opener, and Pushpa led India’s attack with a super 10 each while the defence, led by Indian captain Ritu Negi, took down the Korean raiders consistently.
The win takes India to three points from two matches in Group A of the women’s kabaddi at the Asian Games 2023. India were held level by Chinese Taipei for a draw in their opening match on Monday. Chinese Taipei will play their second kabaddi match against Thailand later in the day.
India, who opted for a cautious approach in their first match, went in aggressively to hand South Korea their first all-out within five minutes. Pooja Hathwala, Pushpa and Nidhi Sharma contributed with successful raids as India raced to an 11-2 lead.
South Korea managed to slow down India for a brief phase and scored a few points through tackles. Still, the Korean raiders could not add to the tally as the Indian defence denied them easy points.
India inflicted three all outs on South Korea in the first half and went into the break with a healthy lead of 23 points at 32-9.
South Korea started the second half brightly with their defence taking down Pushpa and Pooja Hathwala in the opening minutes. However, the Indian women’s kabaddi team’s raiding duo was soon back on the pitch.
Eventually, India inflicted two more all outs on South Korea to win the crucial encounter by a margin of 33 points.
Next, India will take on Thailand in their final group match on Wednesday. While only a loss would prevent India from going through to the semi-finals, they will look to finish on top with another big win and potentially avoid facing defending champions Iran on Friday.
The women’s kabaddi final at the Asian Games 2023 will be played on Saturday.