Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 23 (ANI): The Indian women’s kabaddi team continued its winning run at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, defeating Iran 37-23 in their group-stage match on Wednesday.
India made a slow start and trailed Iran 9-11 in the first half before making a strong comeback. The Indian team turned the momentum around to take a 19-15 lead at the end of the first half.
Bhavna Devi played a key role with crucial tackles, while Pooja contributed important points to help India maintain control of the contest.
India extended its lead in the second half and comfortably secured a 37-23 victory over Iran. The win marked India’s second consecutive victory in the women’s kabaddi competition. Earlier, the Indian team defeated Bangladesh 42-21 in its opening match. India women face Japan tomorrow, Thursday.
Meanwhile, India secured a medal in shooting and assured another in soft tennis, while athletes across rowing, canoe sprint and table tennis produced notable performances on an action-packed day at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026.
The Indian women's skeet team of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan won the bronze medal after finishing third in the team event with a combined score of 331. China won gold with 346 points, while Kazakhstan claimed silver.
In soft tennis, Jay Meena assured India of its first-ever Asian Games medal in the sport after defeating Philippines' Sherwin Nuguit in a thrilling men's singles quarter-final. Meena registered a 4-3 victory to enter the semi-finals, with all semi-finalists guaranteed a medal.
Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the women's 10m air pistol individual final after reaching the medal round. Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh missed out on qualification for the final.
India also made progress in rowing events. Balraj Panwar qualified for the men's single sculls final after finishing third in his heat, while Satnam Singh and Salman Khan advanced to the men's double sculls final after finishing second in their heat.
The men's kayak four 500m team comprising Harshwardhan Shaktawat, Varinder Singh, L Naocha Singh Oinam and Arun Singh also qualified for the canoe sprint final after finishing third in Heat 1. Megha Pradeep progressed to the women's canoe single 200m semi-final, while Parvathy Geetha and Phairembam Soniya Devi qualified for the women's kayak double 500m semi-final.
In rowing, Gurbani Kaur, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Haobijam and Poonam finished sixth overall in the women's four heats and secured qualification for Final A. Jaswinder Singh and Nitin Kumar finished fourth in the men's pair heats and will compete in Final B.
In swimming, Benedicton Beniston finished 13th overall in the men's 100m butterfly heats, while Sajan Prakash did not start the event. Vedaant Madhavan and Aneesh Sunil failed to advance from the men's 200m freestyle heats after finishing 19th and 17th, respectively.
Indian paddlers also registered wins in mixed doubles. Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade defeated Maldives' Mohamed Ismail and Fathimath Ali, while Manush Shah and Diya Chitale overcame Sri Lanka's Chanul Kulappuwawadu and Bimandee Swarna.
In sepaktakraw, India defeated the Philippines 2-1 in the men's team regu Group B match but missed out on qualification for the next stage. (ANI)
Asian Games 2026: India women’s kabaddi team beats Iran 37-23
