Kabaddi: Indian men’s and women’s teams win gold to extend their dominance at South Asian Games

Indian men’s and women’s kabaddi teams won gold medals to extend their dominance at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu on Monday.

The men’s team led by Deepak Niwas Hooda defeated Sri Lanka 51-18 in the final to win their tenth gold medal at the South Asian Games. The women’s team meanwhile defeated hosts Nepal 50-13 to clinch their third gold medal.

Both the Indian teams were dominant from the first match to the last. For the men’s team, raiders Pawan Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar starred in the final never allowing the spirited Sri lankan side to get a foothold in the game. They were ably supported by skipper Hooda. Nitesh Kumar and Vishal Bhardwaj performed well in the corner positions, while the combination of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal rose to the occasion for India.

Before the final, India had recorded convincing victories in the preliminary phase with big victories over Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to end with a points difference of +117.

They continued their fine form in the final against a Sri Lankan side that had pulled off a few upsets in the tournament beating Pakistan and Bangladesh.

For the women’s team, the raiding trio of Sonali Shingate, Pushpa and Sonali were among the points from the start of the tournament. Experienced corner combination of Ritu Negi and Harvinder Kaur provided the solidity to the side.

The women’s team too dominated the preliminary phase with three big wins, ending with a score difference of +94.

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