Regardless of the occasion, India is the perennial favourite in kabaddi. At the 2023 Asian Games, India will eye gold medals in both men’s and women’s events. Here's all you need to know
The kabaddi competitions at the Asian Games 2023 will start from October 2 onwards and will go till October 7 at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China. India will eye gold medals in both men's and women's events. (Medal Tally | Schedule | Full Coverage | Sports News)
The men's event will see nine teams battle it out with each other with each game scheduled for 45 minutes whereas the women's game sees seven teams go head-to-head for a duration of 35 minutes.
Asian Games 2023 kabaddi teams and groups
Men's
Group A: India, Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Chinese Taipei
Group B: Iran, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia
Women's
Group A: India, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Republic of Korea
Group B: Chinese Taipei, Iran, South Korea, Bangladesh
How the group format works:
Teams are divided into two groups with each side playing in a round-robin format, with two points earned for a win and one for a draw. The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals. Winners play in the gold medal match, while the losing semifinalists will be awarded bronze medals.
The finals for the Asian Games 2023 will be held on October 7.
Indian kabaddi teams (men's and women's) will have a tougher opponent to crack in the form of Iran, who are the defending champions in both categories.
Indian Kabaddi Squads:
Men's Team:
Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Nitesh Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Sunil Kumar, Nitin Rawal, Surjeet Singh, Vishal Bharadwaj, Sachin Tanwar, Arjun Deshwal, Aslam Inamdar, Akash Shinde and Naveen Kumar Goyat.
Women's Team:
Akshima, Jyoti, Pooja, Pooja, Priyanka, Pushpa, Sakshi Kumari, Ritu Negi, Nishi Sharma, Sushma Sharma, Snehal Shinde and Sonali Shingate.
Asian Games 2023 Kabaddi Schedule:
You can check the schedule of the Asian Games 2023 kabaddi competition right here
Live streaming information:
Where to watch Asian Games 2023 kabaddi live in India?
Hi! Catch all the action of Asian Games 2023 kabaddi matches on the Sony Sports Network. Plus, the matches will be streamed live on the SonyLiv app and website.