Kabbadi: India begins with a bang

Hangzhou, Oct 3: The Indian men’s kabaddi team began its quest for the title at the Asian Games 2023 with a clinical 55-18 win over Bangladesh at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China on Tuesday. With the win, India jumped to the top of Group A points table. Seasoned raider Naveen Kumar scored a super raid early to set the tone for the Indian kabaddi team in the first half. Arjun Deshwal also cashed in with quick points as India inflicted an all-out on Bangladesh within five minutes to lead 11-1. While the Indian defence proved too strong, the Bangladesh defence settled down after the first few minutes and made the Indian raiders work hard for points. Bangladesh got the Indian captain Pawan Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar out with super tackles to stay in the game. However, the Bangladesh kabaddi team were unable to go on the offensive, lacking both successful raids and bonus points, allowing India’s lead to increase by 15 points at 24-9 at halftime.