India women beat Iran in their Asian Games 2026 kabaddi clashThe defending champions will face Japan next with a semifinal spot at stake.
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India women remain unbeaten in Asian Games 2026(Photo: X)
India continued their title defence in the women’s kabaddi competition at the Asian Games 2026 with a convincing 37-23 victory over Iran in their Group A match at the Tokai Citizens GymnasiumThe defending champions recovered from a slow start before taking control of the contest.
India will now face Japan in their final Group A match on September 24 at 4:15 PM IST, with a semifinal spot at stake.
India overcome early pressure against Iran
Iran started the match strongly and put India under pressure early onThey opened up an 8-4 lead as India struggled to settle into the contest.
Pooja then produced a big moment for India with a Super Raid that reduced Iran’s advantageShe followed that up with another excellent raid to level the scores and swing momentum India’s way.
India slowly settled down and began to pile the pressure on the Iranian backlineTheir combined raiding and defending efforts gave them a 19-15 lead at the half.
India dominate second half
India continued in the same manner after the break and extended their advantage with a strong defensive display.
Iran was unable to convert their pressure into points as India kept breaking their raiding attemptsIn the second half, India scored 18 points and Iran could manage just eight.
The Indian team finished the match with 37 points, including seven bonus points and four All-Out pointsThey also picked up a Super Tackle point in the second half.
The 37-23 victory keeps India firmly in the race for a place in the knockout stage as they look to defend the gold medal won at the previous Asian GamesIndia’s women are aiming for another strong run after beginning their campaign with a win over Bangladesh.
India miss out on Sepak Takraw semifinal
There was disappointment for India in the men’s team regu event of sepak takrawThe Indian team defeated the Philippines 2-1 in their final Group B match but still failed to qualify for the semifinals.
India needed a 3-0 victory to keep their semifinal hopes aliveHowever, the 2-1 result was not enough as Japan progressed on the tiebreak after India, Japan and the Philippines all finished with three regu wins.
A regu is a three-player team event in sepak takraw.
India win two regus but lose decisive contest
India began strongly by winning the first regu 2-0, with scores of 15-7 and 15-10They then won the second regu 2-1 after a close contest.
The Philippines fought back in the third regu and won 2-0, with scores of 17-15 and 15-11That result ended India’s hopes of reaching the semifinals.
India had earlier lost 1-2 to Japan and 0-3 to MalaysiaJapan also lost 0-3 to Malaysia but defeated the Philippines 2-1.
Malaysia joined Japan in qualifying for the semifinalsA place in the last four guarantees a medal in the men’s team regu event.
