Kabaddi at the Asian Games 2022, Day 1: India and Chinese Taipei play out a nerve-wracking tie in the women's category

Kabaddi action in Asian Games 2022 - the 19th edition of the continental competition began today and will be played till 7th October in Hangzhou, China. It will feature nine teams battling it out on the mat in the men’s event. There are two groups in the men’s event with India, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Japan featuring in Group A, while Iran, Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Malaysia are placed in Group B.

The women’s event features seven teams with India, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Republic of Korea in Group A, while Iran, Bangladesh and Nepal are in Group B. The teams in each of these groups in both the men’s and women’s events will play against each other once in the group stage and the top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals.

On Day 1 of the Asian Games 2022 kabaddi event, four matches were played in the men’s category and three matches were held in the women’s category. India women’s kabaddi team shared spoils against Chinese Taipei on the first day. The Indian men’s kabaddi team, meanwhile, will be in action on Day 2 when they take on Bangladesh.

Men’s Results

In the first match of the kabaddi event in the men's category, Bangladesh registered a convincing win against Japan in the Group A game. Bangladesh inflicted four All-outs against Japan as the scoreline read 52 - 17 by the end of the second half.

In the second match, the Chinese Taipei men's team who are participating for the first time in the Asian Games got the better of Thailand by a 45 - 24 margin to claim their first win of the event.

Iran began their gold medal defence with a victory over Pakistan. The Iranians were impressive throughout the game. The 2018 gold medalists secured a 43 - 16 victory against Pakistan.

In the last game of the men's category, Malaysia secured a thrilling win by a 40 - 38 scoreline versus the Republic of Korea.

Women’s Results

The silver medalists of the 2019 South Asian Games, Nepal defeated Bangladesh by a 37 - 24 scoreline in the opening match of the women's category.

The Indian women's team had a watchful start to their Asian Games campaign as Chinese Taipei showed great character on the mat. The latter put the Indian team on the back foot and maintained a slender lead throughout the first half until Pooja inflicted the first All-out of the encounter, giving India a 17-15 lead.

India managed to maintain a decent lead in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Chinese Taipei came closer to India with a Super Tackle against Pooja. Soon after, Chinese Taipei inflicted an All-out against India to take the lead once again. India and Chinese Taipei shared the spoils, with the score reading 34-34 at the end of the match.

In the final game of the evening, Thailand beat Republic of Korea by a 43 - 23 margin to secure their first win in the women's event.

Match results for Day 1:

Men

Match 1: Bangladesh beat Japan 52 - 17

Match 2: Chinese Taipei beat Thailand 45 - 24

Match 3: Iran beat Pakistan 43 -16

Match 4: Malaysia beat Republic of Korea 40 - 38

Women

Match 1: Nepal beat Bangladesh 37 - 24

Match 2: India vs. Chinese Taipei ended in a tie, 34 - 34

Match 3: Thailand beat Republic of Korea 43 - 23