NEW DELHI: The Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 final took place on Friday at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technology Seokdang Cultural Centre in Busan, Republic of Korea, with India defeating Iran. India won by a score of 42-32 to capture their eighth championship in as many tournaments.
With a super 10, Indian captain Pawan Sehrawat took the lead early. In the first five minutes of the game, the Indian kabaddi team trailed Iran. But following a tackle point by the defence and successful attacks by Pawan Sehrawat and Aslam Inamdar in the 10th minute, Iran was compelled to go all out.
The Indian kabaddi team maintained their lead throughout the game. With the aid of a strong overall effort, the squad defeated Iran with a significant advantage. In the meantime, Iran received some useful bonus points from the defending champions India. However, India continued to dominate by forcing the other team to go all out for the second time in the game in the 19th minute.
The Indian squad held a commanding 23-11 halftime advantage. However, in the 29th minute, following a two-point raid, Iranian captain Mohammadreza Shadlu Chayaneh sealed India's first all-out with a super raid.
With two minutes left in the game, the Iranian team made an effort to close the score gap, but India ultimately prevailed 42-32.
The Asian Kabaddi Championship featured India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong as six teams. India finished first on the points standings in the league stage after winning all five of its games. Iran only lost once throughout the league stage, to India, and as a result, they came in second place in the standings.
On the opening day of the competition's league matches, India defeated Korea with its largest victory (76-13). On Thursday, the third day of the competition, the Indian team defeated Iran, winning by the slimmest margin (33-28).
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