Nagoya, India continued their dominant run in kabaddi at the Asian Games with both men’s and women’s team registering comprehensive victories over Bangladesh and Iran respectively in their group-stage fixtures here on Wednesday.
While the women’s team comfortably beat 2018 gold medallist Iran 37-23 in their second group league match, the men’s side saw off Bangladesh 48-25 in their third Group A match here.
“We strategised a lot against Iran, but on the court it was very intense and tough. This is the first time we have won by more than 10 points. Before that, it was always a close match,” women’s coach Neeta Dadwe said after the win.
On who can beat India, Dadwe said: “No one in the world. India are No.1. It is our game. It started in India and we practise it a lot. We have a lot of good players and coaches.
“We work on our technique, speed and strength. We have confidence that we are the best.”
Heaping praise on her players, Dadwe said: “Almost all the players are top-notch, but Pooja and Nikita are the stars of the Indian team.”
Indian women were 19-15 ahead at the half way mark and also extended their domination further in the second half to completely outclass their opponent.
“We are happy to secure the win against Iran. We knew that Iran are a good team. Our goal is to win the gold medal,” India player Pushpa Rana said.
“Our coaches know exactly how to use players on an individual basis. And we followed the plan that the coaches and senior players gave us. We played the match with good coordination, that’s why we won over Iran with a good margin.
“I hope that kabaddi will be an official sport in the Olympics in the future.”
The men’s team too was equally ruthless as they grabbed a 29-9 lead in the first half and though Bangladesh produced a better show in the second, they were never quite in the match at any stage.
Indian women had earlier defeated Bangladesh 42-21 in their group league opener, while the men had beaten Japan 49-24 and South Korea 63-31.
The women’s side will play their last group league game against Japan on Thursday, while the men will take on Chinese Taipei in the final group match.
Both the men and women’s team had won gold medals in the last edition at Hangzhou.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.