Asian Women's Kabaddi Championship: Full list of winners

India has been the most dominant team in the tournament so far.

The Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship was introduced in 2005 (in Hyderabad), twenty-five years after the Men’s version was announced. Akin to the men’s tournament, India has been the most dominant team.

At the time of writing, five editions of the Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship have been completed. The previous one was held in 2017 in Iran. After a long wait of eight years, the continental event has returned.

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The competition has indeed seen an interesting pattern of hosting. The first three editions were held over four years. The fourth edition was then played much later, in 2016, with the next edition being held the very next year. India and Iran have played host for two editions of the league each, while the other one was hosted in South Korea.

The Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championships may not have the same prestige as the World Cup or the Asian Games. However, it provides an additional chance for female Kabaddi players, who are generally deprived of frequent action, considering the absence of leagues and the scarcity of major events. It is also a chance for sides to experiment and settle down on a combination ahead of upcoming marquee events.

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A look back at the previous editions of the Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship

India has been the best team in the continental championship, winning four titles in five editions. Interestingly, they didn’t participate in the tournament the only time they didn’t lift the trophy. At that time, South Korea emerged triumphant. They also finished as runners-up once, while Iran finished as a losing finalist twice.

In the first edition of the tournament, held in Hyderabad in 2005, India defeated Japan in the final, with neighbors Sri Lanka and Bangladesh winning bronze. India ended up as champions again in 2007, in the Iranian capital city of Tehran, going past the hosts in the summit clash. Sri Lanka clinched a second successive bronze and was joined by Thailand on the podium.

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The tournament returned to India the next year, hosted in Madurai. India completed a hat-trick of titles in a repeat of the last campaign’s final. Thailand won back-to-back bronze medals, while Japan won their first bronze.

After a long wait of eight years, the competition returned and was played in the South Korean city of Busan. In the absence of heavyweights India, the hosts lifted the trophy for the first time, beating Thailand in the final. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh occupied the rest of the podium.

The championship then returned to Iran in 2017, hosted by the city of Gorgan. India made a comeback at the event and finished on top of the podium for the fourth time. The defending champions were the runner-up this time, with the hosts and Sri Lanka (fourth bronze in five attempts) losing in the semifinals.

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The event was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The head coach of the Thailand women’s team was reportedly caught with a headscarf over his head as he attempted to gain entry into one of the matches that the Iranian women’s team was taking part in.

The much-awaited continental showpiece returns in 2025 after a long gap of eight years. India lifted their fifth Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship title, defeating Iran 32-25 in the final.

Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship Winners:

Year	Location	Winner	Runners-up	Bronze Medallists
2005	Hyderabad, India	India	Japan	Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
2007	Tehran, Iran	India	Iran	Sri Lanka, Thailand
2008	Madurai, India	India	Iran	Japan, Thailand
2016	Busan, South Korea	South Korea	Thailand	Sri Lanka, Bangaldesh
2017	Gorgan, Iran	India	South Korea	Iran, Sri Lanka
2025	Tehran, Iran	India	Iran	Nepal, Bangladesh

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