Sixth in a row for the women, silver again for the men: India's beach kabaddi day in Sanya
India's women beat Sri Lanka 47-31 in the beach kabaddi final at the 2026 Asian Beach Games in Sanya on Monday for a sixth consecutive gold in the discipline. The men, in the final on the same day, ran into an Iran side that had been unbeaten through the tournament and lost 31-44. Silver for the second straight edition.
Two finals, one gold, one silver. The headline number for the Indian camp is one that has not changed in years on the women's side and is starting to look uncomfortably consistent on the men's.
A women's final that was decided early
Sri Lanka were in their first Asian Beach Games kabaddi final, having beaten Nepal 46-23 in the semi. India had beaten the same Bangladesh side in the other semi a day earlier. The pattern of the final stuck close to the seedings. The Indian raiders moved the score on quickly through the first half, opened a clear lead by the break, and managed the second half without much drama. 47-31 is the kind of margin that suggests the favourite had it under control from early on, and the live commentary out of Sanya backed that up.
This is the sixth consecutive gold for India in the women's competition. The format is on the sand rather than the mat, the team sizes are smaller, and the pace of the game is faster, but the women's squad has been built off the same domestic pipeline that has fed the senior indoor side for years.
Iran's perfect run
The men's draw had a different shape. India had reached the final by beating Pakistan 50-27 in the semi, the kind of all-action raiding display that has been the team's calling card all week. Iran's path was tougher in stretches and shorter in others. They beat Sri Lanka 42-29 in their semi, having put 53 on Syria and 47 on Bangladesh in the group stage. Through five matches, they had not dropped a game.
The final, on Monday afternoon local time, did not produce a turn. Iran led at the break, controlled the middle phase, and saw the game out at 44-31. India's defenders had moments. The Indian raiders never quite built the kind of multi-touch sequences that win super-tackle points, and Iran's tackling unit did the bulk of the work.
Two silvers in two editions
It is also the second consecutive Asian Beach Games where the Indian men have finished as silver medallists. There is no shame in losing to an Iran side that has been the top team in the men's beach format for several years now, but two silvers in a row will land back in the federation's planning. The raid-defence ratio in the final on Monday is the kind of detail the head coach will want to look at on the flight home.
India's overall medal haul out of the kabaddi events at Sanya is now one gold and one silver. Two finals, two opponents with very different pedigrees, two very different scorelines.
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