India Complete Kabaddi Golden Double, Men and Women Both Beat Iran for Gold

India completed a kabaddi golden double at the Asian Games, with the men's team beating Iran in Saturday's final hours after the women had done the same, extending India's dominance of the sport since it debuted at the Games in 1990.

The men's team, captained by Sunil Kumar with Pawan Sehrawat as vice-captain, went unbeaten through the group stage, beating hosts Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei, before a 66-28 semi-final rout of Thailand booked their spot in the final. Iran, the only nation ever to deny India the men's Asian Games title, reached the final on the back of stars like captain Fazel Atrachali and Mohammadreza Shadloui.

India are now the most successful nation in Asian Games kabaddi with 13 golds in total, nine in the men's event and four in the women's, and completed the men's and women's double on the same day, having also swept both titles at Hangzhou 2023. Both events run a straight knockout format with no separate bronze-medal playoff, meaning both losing semi-finalists are awarded bronze.