India had been the only country ever to win kabaddi gold at the Asian Games until Iran shocked them five years ago. Now India are gunning for revenge in Hangzhou but Iranian athletes and officials warned Monday they will face a "tough" battle to wrest back the gold. Iran won both the men's and women's golds at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta to stun India, where millions of television viewers watch glitzy and money-spinning professional kabaddi leagues modelled on cricket's IPL. "Our team will fight and our team will win," India women's coach V. Tejaswini Bai said after a surprise 34-34 draw against Taiwan in their first group match on Monday. Kabaddi made its Asian Games debut in 1990 at Beijing with India winning every Asiad until Jakarta.

Source: The Express Tribune October 03, 2023 02:06 UTC