Asian Women's Kabaddi Championship 2025: India, hosts Iran & Nepal marches into semis

The Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship 2025 will run for three days in Iran.

Defending champions India made a great start in the sixth edition of the 6th Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship 2025. The day was filled with thrilling action between seven teams divided into two groups, each taking on the other teams in a round-robin format. Tehran played the host city to the competition, becoming the first city to host it twice.

Hosts Iran began the day’s proceedings in the morning session. They took on their traditional rival, Iraq, in the first game. It was off no match as Iran streamrolled past the opposition to start their campaign on a winning note in the home soil. The action shifted to Pool A, which saw two games in the morning session.

Also Read: 6th Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship: Schedule, results, pools & teams

2016 silver medallist Thailand played a crucial match against Malaysia. It was considered to be the deciding match for second place in Pool A. Thailand dominated from the start, and Malaysia’s lack of experience was clearly visible as they lost 24–45. The morning session was completed with favorites, India taking on eastern neighbours Bangladesh.

As expected, it was no contest, as the Sonali Vishnu Shingate-led Indian team dictated the terms from the first minute to take two points, with the scoreline reading 64-23. After a break, the matches resumed in the evening session, with both losers from Pool A in the morning session battling it out against each other for the all-important two points.

Also Read: Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship 2025: India’s full schedule, results, squad & pool

Bangladesh, who had won a solitary medal in the championship with a Bronze in the inaugural edition, moved closer to repeating the feat as they nailed Malaysia with a 52-12 win. It was another disastrous outing for Iraq as Nepal crushed them by a big margin of 68-6. India finished off the day with another thumping win.

India notched up another two points with a 76-21 win against Thailand. India proved once again that they were far ahead of the other teams in terms of quality. But the defending champions cannot take any team lightly, as the world has seen funnier things happen in the world of sports. The action will resume on Day 2 with three more league matches, and the top two from both groups will qualify for the semifinals, which is scheduled to take place in the evening session.

Day 1 Morning Session Results:

• Match 1: Iran 58-13 Iraq
• Match 2: Thailand 45-24 Malaysia
• Match 3: India 64-23 Bangladesh

Day 1 Evening Session Results:

• Match 4: Bangladesh 52-12 Malaysia
• Match 5: Nepal 68-06 Iraq
• Match 6: India 76-21 Thailand

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