India won the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 final against Iran with a score of 42-32 at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technology Seokdang Cultural Centre in Busan, Republic of Korea.
In the past nine tournaments, this was India’s eighth final win. The Indian team’s captain, Pawan Sehrawat, was the main man in the victory. Turning in a great show that had eleven winning raids. India had behind Iran in the first five minutes of the game.
India’s Journey towards the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023
Since its inception in 1980, the Asian Kabaddi Championship has seen many Asian nations taking part. In nine competitions, the Indian Mens Kabbadi Team has won eight gold medals. It makes them the most successful team to date.
The Asian Kabaddi Championships had six teams: China, Taipei, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, and India. India came first in the points table after winning all five league games. Iran qualified for the final, coming second, and only lost to the Indian kabaddi team in the league stage.
The tournament’s opening day saw India defeat Korea by a score of 76-13. While their fine victory, a 33-28 win against Iran, came against that nation on Thursday.
The next Asian Games will take place from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, China. It will give the Indian kabaddi teams their next major test. The current champion at the continental multi-sport league is Iran. They beat India in the semi-finals in Jakarta in 2018.
Asia Kabaddi Championship 2023: As It Happened
Despite Iran scoring first, India’s raiding skills allowed the team to rack up scores and easily get a lead of six to seven points over Iran.
Iran’s scoring machine was kept running by Saeid Ghaffari, Moein Shafaghi, and Amir Mohammad, as well as some helpful scores from Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh. However, the Iranian assault fell short of the bite and consistency of its Indian counterpart.
Although always from a safe distance. Shadloui’s flashes of magic—such as his pursuit raids, his three-point effort that helped Iran inflict an all-out. His bonus raids—helped Iran close the gap on India. If the Patna Pirates star have had more help, this final game might have ended with a different score and possibly a different result.
Iran had the best chance to take the game away from India thanks to Shadloui’s five-point (all-out points included) effort. With a lot of time left on the clock and the scores reading 35-26 in favour of India, Iran had to use its advantages to close the gap.
India vs Iran: A match for the ages
India, on the other hand, singled out Shadloui and took him out from the game scene, especially when he came on to raid. The Indian kabaddi teams’ defence encircled Shadloui to the point where he was on the mat, almost squeezing him.
Iran came under pressure after that. The raid points were no longer coming in as quickly. An eight-plus point gap was too big for the Iranians to close with time running out.
When Shadloui came to raid with Aslam, the lone man on the mat, he had the chance to alter that.
His main interruption of the kabaddi song to shout at Aslam that he had touched him cost the Indian kabaddi team two points for a great tackle. When the 22-year-old realised his missed chance, he at once cupped his hands about his face.
When the game ended in the final seconds, India kept calm and won yet another international match against Iran.
