Asian Kabaddi Championship: India beats Iran 33-28, through to finals

Asian Kabaddi Championship: India beat Iran 33-28 in day 3 fixture to continues its winning steeak

Indian team celebrates after the win over Iran. | Photo Credit: Screengrab: Asian Kabaddi Championship Youtube

India continued its winning run to hand its arch-rival, Iran, a 33-28 loss in the day three fixture of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023, happening in Busan, South Korea.

Earlier, India beat Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan to inch towards sealing its spot in the finals, where the side is likely to run into either Japan or Iran.

India started strong against Iran, with its raiders coming to the fore. Pawan Sehrawat, Arjun Deshwal and Aslam Inamdar were able to operate as a three-pronged raiding unit which didn’t meet too much resistance. India held a comfortable lead of 10 points at the half way stage.

Iran, a nation known for its defensive prowess in kabaddi, did not entirely sit back. They played on the third raid and with super tackles to reduce the deficit, point by point, enough to overtake India for a few brief moments in the tie. This was the first time in the tournament that India trailed its opponent.

Pawan operated in raid and defence, starring with a super 10 and a haul of 16 points in total to help India keep the Iranians at bay. Nitesh Kumar was also clinical with his double thigh blocks and ankle holds in the right corner. However, the Iranian raiders were up to the task. Alirezza, Haiderali Ekrami and Co. used the bonuses to their advantage and targeted the likes of Parvesh Bhainswal and Arjun Deshwal, who was supporting Nitesh, to pick points.

Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh, Iran’s star left corner, was not as effective as he would liked to be. He was able to orchestrate takedowns in defence, but was also easily susceptible to Pawan’s lofted back kicks in raids.

The match came down to a nervy end with Iran managing to bring down the deficit to just two points with two minutes left on the clock. However, Nitesh’s takedown of Alirezza to give India two points courtesy a super tackle helped take the game away from the Iranians.

This win ensured India stayed unbeaten in the tournament while Iran suffered its first defeat. This has been the closest game in the tournament thus far in terms of points scored. India has a foot in the final and will wait with bated breath to see who wins the Iran vs Japan encounter on Friday - which will decide the other finalist.