How many gold medals have India won in Kabaddi events at Asian Games?

The Indian men’s and women’s teams have collectively won 11 gold medals at the Asian Games.

India have always been a dominant force in the Kabaddi circuit. This sport originated in ancient India, and Indians continue to dominate it globally. The most important international tournaments in kabaddi remain the World Cup and the Asian Games.

India have won all three Men’s Kabaddi World Cups and both Women’s Kabaddi World Cups, showcasing their dominance at the world level.

Since kabaddi is most popular in Asian nations, the event at the Asian Games holds great importance, and the Indian teams have dominated both the men’s and women’s categories in this tournament.

For the first time, the men’s kabaddi event was held at the 1990 Asian Games, and the women’s category was added in 2010. The Indian teams have won the gold medal on most occasions; however, other countries like Iran and South Korea have also challenged them.

On that note, let’s have a look at the gold medals won by the Indian kabaddi teams in both the men’s and women’s categories at the Asian Games.

Indian men’s kabaddi team have won 8 gold medals

The Indian men’s kabaddi team made their debut at the 1990 Asian Games, when kabaddi was included as a medal event for the first time. The team, led by Hardeep Singh, made history by winning the gold medal.

It was also the only gold medal for the Indian contingent at the 1990 Asian Games. They clinched the gold medal in a round-robin competition by winning all five of their matches. The Indian team won the gold medal at the next Asian Games (1994) as well.

They won all four of their matches in a round-robin competition under the leadership of S. Rajarathinam. India further continued their dominance at the 1998 Asian Games by winning the gold medal in a round-robin competition after winning all six matches under the captaincy of Biswajit Palit.

The Indian team, led by captain Ram Mehar Singh, upheld their glorious tradition at the 2002 Asian Games as well, winning all five of their matches to clinch the gold medal once again.

The format changed at the 2006 Asian Games. After finishing at the top in the preliminary round, the Indian team, led by Dinesh Kumar, faced Pakistan, who had finished second. India won the gold medal by defeating them 35–23 in the final.

Rakesh Kumar captained India at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. India won gold medals in both events; first, they defeated Iran 37–20 in the 2010 final, and then beat them again 27–25 in a closely contested 2014 final.

The 2018 Asian Games marked the first time India failed to win a gold medal, as Iran defeated them 27–18 in the semi-final. Iran then went on to win the final against South Korea by 26–16.

The Indian team, led by Pawan Sehrawat, took their revenge at the 2022 Asian Games by defeating Iran 33–29 in the final and reclaiming their dominance. Overall, the Indian men’s kabaddi team have won eight gold medals and one bronze medal at the Asian Games.

Indian women’s team bagged 3 gold medals

The women’s category was introduced in the kabaddi event at the Asian Games in 2010. The Indian women’s kabaddi team dominated the 2010 Asian Games.

The team topped their group and went on to win the gold medal by defeating Iran 23–22 (after extra time) in the semi-final and Thailand 28–14 in the final. The team maintained their dominance at the 2014 Asian Games and won the gold medal again by defeating Iran 31–21 in the final held at the Songdo Global University Gymnasium in Incheon, South Korea.

Just like the men’s team, the women’s team also lost the gold medal match for the first time at the 2018 Asian Games when they were defeated by Iran 27–24 in the final. The Iranian team made a clean sweep in both kabaddi events at the 2018 Asian Games.

The Indian women’s team also made a comeback at the 2022 Asian Games, facing Chinese Taipei in the final. Chinese Taipei upset Iran in the semi-final to secure a place in the final. The final was closely contested, and India won the gold medal by just one point, defeating Chinese Taipei 26–25.

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