In women’s kabaddi, which was introduced at the 2010 Asian Games, India won its third gold medal. India won gold in the 2010 and 2014 competitions, but after falling to Iran in the championship match, India had to settle for silver.
Indian women’s kabaddi players found it difficult to contain their tears after defeating Chinese Taipei in the Asian Games final. India won the gold medal at the Hangzhou Games, its 100th overall, after edging its opponents 26-25 in a thrilling contest. The Indian players sobbed and floods of joy streamed down their cheeks as the referee blew the full-time whistle. As they celebrated this momentous occasion for the nation, players hugged one another.
India won its third gold medal in women’s kabaddi, which was played for the first time in the 2010 Asian Games. India won gold in the 2010 and 2014 competitions but had to settle for silver in the 2018 competition after falling to Iran in the championship match.
In this instance, an exciting summit battle pitted the Indians against Chinese Taipei, a rising kabaddi power.
Having finished the group league game deadlocked 34-34, the two teams realised the championship game would be challenging.
The Indian Women’s #Kabaddi team brings home the GOLD from #AsianGames#HangzhouAsianGames #Cheer4India #SonyLIV pic.twitter.com/WqTrOwNgdH
— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) October 7, 2023
When India won its 25th gold medal and 100th medal overall at these Asian Games, the India Women’s Kabaddi squad broke down in tears.
Moments for a lifetime with Our Team India! pic.twitter.com/jvJPRwU1oS
(@ImTanujSingh) CricketMAN2 30 September 2023
A fantastic raid by Pooja, one of the stars of the dramatic final that also saw the team’s coach receive a caution with a green card, gave India a commanding 14-9 lead at the break.
The advantage changed hands several times over the course of the next 15 minutes in a tense exhibition of great tennis from both teams.
Chinese Taipei quickly cut India’s lead to 16-14 once the game resumed. The score was 19-17 in favour of India with less than five minutes left when Chinese Taipei won a vital video referral.
Chinese Taipei started to rise from there. When the Chinese Taipei player conducted the raid, there were only two Indian players there. As she touched the backline, one Indian player was eliminated, and the other was unable to grab the opposing raider.
Four points were scored by Chinese Taipei, two from the raid and two from sending India All Out, putting them ahead, 21-19.
With 53 seconds remaining, India’s raider Pushpa earned a point at that time. Chinese Taipei requested a review, but it was denied, giving India the victory and putting an end to the contest.
Chinese Taipei gained a point with a raider, bringing the final score down to 25–26. The final few seconds were played out by the Indians before they celebrated by leaping into each other’s arms.
“After losing the gold at the 2018 Asian Games, we really worked hard. We had to wait five years, but our efforts paid off,” said captain Ritu Negi, who was also a member of the 2018 Asian Games silver-winning team.
In the Indonesian championship, Iran had defeated India.
“Our players were a bit nervous towards the end but they kept themselves under control and ultimately pulled off the win,” Edachery Bhaskaran, our coach, remarked.
Chinese Taipei are now a highly powerful team. They have already trained in India and will keep becoming better. We must also put in more effort to cling onto our position.
