Asian Games 2026: Indian Kabaddi team beat Chinese Taipei; qualify for semis

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The Indian men’s kabaddi squad continued their impressive form at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, beating Chinese Taipei on Thursday to seal a spot in the semi-finals.

Wrapping up their group phase fixtures undefeated with four victories from four games, the reigning champions powered past Chinese Taipei with a 37-21 scoreline in their final Group A fixture.

India asserted control early in the opening period, establishing an initial 17-7 lead before heading into the break ahead at 23-11, largely due to standout contributions from Arjun Deshwal. Maintaining their momentum after the interval, the defending champions cruised to a 37-21 win to confirm their progression to the final four, leaving them just a couple of victories away from defending their crown.

This latest success builds on an impressive group campaign that featured a 48-25 rout of Bangladesh on Wednesday, a 49-24 opening-match thrashing of hosts Japan, and a comprehensive 63-31 win over South Korea. 

Since kabaddi made its official men’s team debut at the 1990 Asian Games, India has dominated the sport with eight gold medals across nine editions, interrupted only by a bronze finish in 2018 before reclaiming the title from Iran 33-29 at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Indian stars shine at the Asian Games 2026

Wushu player Roshibina Devi claimed her second straight silver medal after losing the women’s sanda 60 kg final to China’s Zhang Xiaoyu. Having secured silver in Hangzhou and bronze in 2018, Roshibina became the first Indian woman to capture three successive Asian wushu medals following an impressive run that featured a win over 2023 world champion Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy.

In rowing, the men’s double sculls pairing of Satnam Singh and Salman Khan secured a bronze medal with a time of 6:13.25, finishing narrowly behind gold-winning Chinese rowers Yi Xudi and Nie Yide. Fellow rower Balraj Panwar narrowly missed the podium in the men’s single sculls final, placing fourth after leading through the intermediate splits.

Earlier, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty faltered against higher-ranked opponents as the Indian men’s team signed off with a bronze medal after going down 1-3 to rivals China in the semifinals of the Asian Games. India had won the silver medal at the last edition in Hangzhou in 2023, where they had lost to China in the final.

(With inputs from ANI)

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