Iran led the kabaddi final at half-time, and India’s defenders won the ninth gold 40-34

Iran were ahead at half-time of Saturday’s Asian Games men’s kabaddi final, 18-17, after putting India all out late in the half. India won the second half 23-16. The 40-34 result at the Tokai Citizens Gymnasium in Aichi gives Sunil Kumar’s side the gold, India’s ninth in the ten men’s tournaments held since kabaddi joined the Games in 1990.

The women had beaten Iran 37-34 on the same mat that morning, so India leave Japan with both kabaddi golds for the second Games in a row.

Zafar Danesh gave Iran the lead

This was the match India had been expecting since the draw kept the two sides apart until the knockouts. Iran are the only team to have taken the men’s title off India, in Jakarta in 2018, and the only side that looked capable of doing it again here.

For most of the first half they played like it. Ali Samadi Choubtarash was a problem for India’s cover defenders early, and India’s first big moment in defence was a Super Tackle on Mohammadreza Shadlouichiyaneh. It came from Sunil Kumar, the corner defender who took the captaincy from Pawan Sehrawat before the Games.

Then Amirmohammad Zafar Danesh took over. His two-point raid finished off India’s last men on the mat for the first All-Out of the match, Iran’s captain Fazel Atrachali followed it with a Super Tackle, and Zafar Danesh caught Devank Dalal to send Iran into the break 18-17 up. India had won their five previous games in Aichi by 16 points or more.

Sumit and Jaideep turned it

Sumit, at left corner, was the reason it did not last. He and Jaideep Dahiya combined for a Super Tackle on Samadi after the break, Aslam Inamdar followed it with a successful do-or-die raid, and India were level. Sumit and Jaideep are two of the eight men in this squad who had never played an Asian Games.

Arjun Deshwal kept the scoreboard moving at the other end with touches and bonus points. Fazel and Omid Khojastehmohammadshah stopped him once with a Super Tackle, but India’s defence came at Iran’s raiders in numbers, and their first All-Out of the match put them 29-24 up with about ten minutes left.

Iran did not go away. Zafar Danesh kept coming back for points until Sumit shut him down with a back hold. Rahul Sethpal’s tackle kept India seven clear with three minutes to go, and Inamdar, one of the four survivors from Hangzhou, took two more points to put the result out of reach.

Unbeaten, but only just at the end

India won all six of their matches in Aichi. The six-point margin in the final was the narrowest of the lot, which says as much about Iran as about India.

It is also a gold won with a very different team from the one that beat Iran 33-29 in the Hangzhou final. Only Deshwal, Sunil, Sehrawat and Inamdar were in that squad. Ayan Lohchab and Devank Dalal, the top two raiders of PKL Season 12, came in fresh. On Saturday the gold was won in defence, by a captain who plays in the corner and a left corner who had never been to an Asian Games before this month.

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