Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023: India beat Iran 42-32 in final to lift title for eighth time

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Indian national kabaddi team defeated old rivals Iran in the final to lift the 11th Asian Kabaddi Championship on Friday (June 30) in Busan, Korea. Led by star raider Pawan Sehrawat, India defeated Iran 42-32 to win their eighth title in the continental championship.

The 11th edition of the Asian competition - which was held after a gap of six years - saw participation from six nations, namely, India, Iran, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.

India beat Iran in Asian Kabaddi Championship Final

India and Iran - the two powerhouses of kabaddi - locked horns with each other in the highly-anticipated final where the Indians pulled off a stunning win in a tightly-contested match. Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 Results

The scoreline, however, wouldn't tell the entire story as the defending champions, India, won the game by a margin of ten points but the Iranians, who were led by Mohammadreza Chiyaneh Shadloui, gave their opponents a tough fight. At the halfway stage, the scoreline read 23-11 in favour of India. After conceding an early lead, India led by 12 points at halftime.

Earlier on Friday (June 30), in the last league match of the tournament, India defeated Hong Kong 64-20. India made a few changes to their starting 7 and rested a few of their top players, such as Pawan Sehrawat and Aslam Inamdar, to keep them fresh for the final. Asian Kabaddi Championship Winners Full List

The strong Indian team inflicted an early All-Out against Hong Kong and the defending champions kept raising the bar with every passing minute against Hong Kong. They kept making it difficult for the opposition to earn points.

Indians proved to be a far superior side against the minnows and won the game quite convincingly to warm up nicely for the final. The Indian raiders and defenders - who worked in tandem and maintained pressure over Hong Kong - continued their winning streak and completed a clean sweep in the league matches.

Meanwhile, Iran defeated Japan with a scoreline of 71-13 in their last league match to make it to the Final. However, they failed to maintain the same intensity all through the final and finished as runners-up in the competition, they won 20 years back (in 2003).

Kabaddi in Asian Games 2023

A title win in Busan will bode well for the Indian kabaddi team as they prepare for the Asian Games 2023 - the biggest multi-sporting event stage for the sport as it is not a part of the Olympics. The Asian Games 2023, which will be held in Hangzhou China between September 23 and October 8, will see almost the same teams competing for the podium finish.

In the 2018 Asian Games, held in Jakarta, India had to contend with a silver medal after losing against a strong Iran side in the final. The win in Korea will give the Indians the confidence to do well in September-October and once again establish themselves as the top kabaddi team in the world.