Tokai, Sep 26 — India men's Kabaddi team extended its authority at the Asian Games as they bagged a record-extending ninth gold medal at the continental showpiece with their win over Iran at the ongoing Aichi-Nagoya Games on Saturday.
The Indian men's backed the women's gold medal with their own yellow metal as they defeated a strong Iranian side 40-34 in a thrilling final at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium here in Tokai.
India and Iran fought tooth and nail in a classic final. The two exchanged points on raids, tackles, and bonus points, and there was not much to separate the two teams, especially in the first half, adding another game to their previous classic games.
Iran held a narrow 18-17 lead going into the first half break as they inflicted a crucial all-out on the defending champions India. Iran took 14 out points, one bonus point and one from a super tackle. Meanwhile, India's defence helped them win two Super tackle points, apart from 11 out, three bonus points and one technical point.
The second half saw India pull through Iran, although the two teams were close at 20-20 at the start of the second half. India's defence kept doing wonders with Sumit unleashing a few thigh tackles.
India inflicted an all-out on Iran with Rahul nailing a tackle to give India a 29-24 lead. India kept doing the work in both defence and raid and went on to clinch the ninth Kabaddi gold medal and the fourth for the Indian contingent overall at the ongoing Asian Games.
Earlier, the Indian women's team defended its Kabaddi gold medal with a strong performance against an impressive Iranian side.
The Indian team clinched their fourth Kabaddi gold in the history of the Asian Games with a 37-34 win over 2018 champions Iran. This is India's fourth women's Kabaddi gold and third for the Indian contingent at the ongoing Asian Games.
The Women in Blue held their nerve in a thrilling gold medal match. They kept a lead for the majority of the final and went to the first-half break with a scoreline of 22-16. The Iranian women gave the Indian women a good run and pushed them to the limits in the second half, collecting 18 points in reply to India's 15. However, the Women in Blue had done enough to seal the contest 37-34.