Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023: India win the Continental championship without losing a single match

The Indian Kabaddi team showcased their supremacy in full force as they become winners of Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 at Busan, South Korea. India defeated Iran in the final by 42-32 to lift the Asian title for a record 8th time. 

No other team in the Asian continent has been able to do so and in fact India's opponents in this edition's finale - Iran is the only team other than India to win the Asian Kabaddi Championship. 

However, the Iranians have also been able to win the tournament just once that too 20 years ago when the Continental championship was held in Kangar, Malaysia. This shows how dominant India have been in the Kabaddi circuit Internationally. 

Something similar will be expected from the Indian contingent during the next Kabaddi world cup which is most probably taking place next year. But we must talk about the performance India displayed in the Asian Kabaddi Championship, where they remained undefeated or untouchable throughout the tournament. 

In their tournament opener against hosts South Korea, India were always expected to come out on top and they did so very easily. 

Led by Pawan Sehrawat in the attacking front, India bamboozled Korea by a massive scoreline of 76-13. The Koreans did not pose any such threat and India got off to the best possible start. 

Up next India faced Chinise Taipei who were another team which was not close to India's level. At half-time, the score was 21-12 but by the full time the scoreline was 53-20. 

Japan were the 3rd opponents that India faced and the Pawan Sehrawat led side won another match easily by 62-17. 

India's toughest competition came in the 4th match when they took on Iran. Though India had a lead of 10 points during half-time against Iran, the gap had reduced to just 5 points by the full time with the eventual scoreline being 33-28. 

India's last league stage match was against Hong Kong. It was another walk in the park for India as they looked to be playing effortlessly throughout before winning the contest by 64-20. 

Then in the Final showdown, India met Iran again and it was a clash of the best and 2nd best team. During the initial minutes, Iran had the momentum but the Indian team knew how to stage a fightback. 

After losing 4 points early on, India quickly recovered and made it 23-11 at half-time. India were looking to win the match by more than 15 points but Iran's Captain Mohammadreza Chiyaneh led from the front and tried to take his team over the line. 

The Intensity had gone over the roof to an extent that the entire Indian team was shown Green card by the referee. However, India eventually won by 42-32.