The Indian men's kabaddi team continued to dominate the Asian Kabaddi Championships as they defeated Iran in the final to win their eighth title.
Indian captain Pawan Sehrawat scored a Super 10 as his side defeated Iran 42-32 at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technology Seokdang Cultural Center in Busan, Republic of Korea, on Friday.
India have won eight of the nine editions of the tournament, while Iran claimed their sole championship in 2003.
🏆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 🏆
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Congratulations to our #ProKabaddi 🌟🌟 on winning the 11th Asian Kabaddi Championship 🇮🇳🙌#AKC2023 #Kabaddi #TeamIndia #IndianKabaddi #IndianKabaddiTeam pic.twitter.com/OHTGUB7fM7
Smarting from their narrow defeat to India on Thursday, Iran tried to do some early damage and led India in the first five minutes of the final. But the Indian defenders refused to wilt and scored a couple of crucial tackle points to bring their team back into the game.
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Sehrawat and Aslam Inamdar then scored successful raids as India turned the tables and handed Iran their first all-out in the 10th minute.
India were firmly in control as they headed into half-time with a 23-11 lead. A plucky performance from Iran's star all-rounder Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, who followed a two-point raid with a super raid, saw the West Asian side hand India their first all-out in the 29th minute.
But an Indian team that held an edge in both departments, raid and defence, held their nerve in the closing stages of the match to win the title.
The 2023 Asian Kabaddi Championships featured six teams -- India, Iran, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Hong Kong. India was undefeated in the tournament, including in the two clashes against Iran.
The competition was an important precursor to the Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8. Though India is the most successful team at kabaddi's marquee event, they were unable to clinch gold in 2018 as they lost to Iran in the semi-finals.
It was the first time since kabaddi was introduced as a medal event at the Asian Games in 1990 that India had lost the gold medal. They settled for a bronze in 2018, while Iran won gold and South Korea the silver.
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