Gold medals in sight: Undefeated Indian men, women sweep Asian Games kabaddi semifinals

Nagoya: The Indian men's and women's kabaddi teams remained on track to defend their gold medals after securing comfortable semi-final victories to reach their respective event finals at the Asian Games on Friday.

The women's squad progressed to the final with a 48-24 victory over Nepal, before the men joined them by defeating Thailand 66-28 in their last-four fixture.

The decisive performances preserved the undefeated records of both defending champion teams in the current tournament.

Both Indian teams will confront Iran in Saturday's finals.

Iran defeated Chinese Taipei 23-19 in the women's semi-final and recorded a 59-21 victory in the men's semi-final earlier on Friday.

In the women's semi-final, India established a commanding 31-17 lead during the opening half, securing four all-outs and four bonus points.

Nepal struggled to mount a sustained challenge, scoring just seven additional points in the second half.

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The men's encounter followed a similar pattern, with India building a 37-18 lead by half-time and maintaining control throughout the remainder of the contest.

The gap in quality and experience was reflected in the 15 bonus points claimed by India compared to Thailand's five.

Both finals will pit the Indian teams against the Iranian sides following their respective victories over Chinese Taipei.

Women's kabaddi was introduced to the Asian Games in 2010, with India claiming gold in every edition to date.

Men's kabaddi has featured on the Asian Games program since 1990, with India securing eight gold medals during that span.

Iran remains the only other country to win gold in the men's event, having finished top in 2018 when India unexpectedly took bronze.

PTI