Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023: India storm into final after narrow win over Iran
This was India’s fourth win on the trot. The Indian men’s kabaddi team will play Hong Kong next on Friday before the final on the same day.
India stormed into the final of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 with a narrow 33-28 win over Iran at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technology Seokdang Cultural Center in Busan, Republic of Korea, on Thursday.
The Indian men’s kabaddi team captain Pawan Sehrawat led from the front, scoring 16 of the 33 points for India.
Both India and Iran were on unbeaten runs coming into the contest. The two kabaddi teams made a cautious start to the match. Aslam Inamdar’s two-point raid followed by an all-out and Pawan Sehrawat’s two-point raid helped India build up a healthy lead early on.
The scores read 19-9 in India’s favour at the half-time. Iran, the reigning Asian Games champions, mounted a terrific comeback after the break.
Iran, who beat Korea 72-17 earlier in the day, handed India their first all-out of the tournament and reduced the gap to just two points with a minute to go.
However, a super tackle by India with 30 seconds to go in the match followed by a two-point raid by Arjun Deshwal helped India wrap the match up with a five-point margin.
Earlier in the tournament, India beat Japan 62-17, Korea 76-13 and registered a 53-19 win over Chinese Taipei. The Indian kabaddi team will play Hong Kong in their final league match on Friday before playing their final on the same day.
The top two teams after the conclusion of the league stage will play the final. India have won seven of the eight Asian Kabaddi Championship editions played so far while Iran won the title once, in 2003.