The Indian men’s kabaddi team will play at the 2026 Asian Games with a notably rejuvenated squad, with a young lot being thrust into the limelight in the Aichi-Nagoya event. 8 out of the 12 in the squad being part of the Asian Games for the first time means that, apart from trying to win games, they also need to manage the pressure that comes with India’s success history in the game. It will be exciting to see how they perform as kabaddi fans follow the tournament via sites like 1xBet.
Of the 12 players on the 2026 team, 4 have been part of India’s Asian Games gold-medal-winning side: Sunil Kumar, Pawan Sehrawat, Arjun Deshwal and Aslam Inamdar. The other eight include Ashu Malik, Ayan Lohchab, Devank Dalal, Jaideep Dahiya, Rahul Sethpal, Gaurav Khatri, Sumit Sangwan and Ankit Jaglan, who will debut at the Asian Games.
While Ayan Lohchab and Devank Dalal come in after successful PKL stints, Ashu Malik and Arjun Deshwal add more raids to the mix. Jaideep Dahiya and Gaurav Khatri will bring in their recent league experience in defence. Sunil Kumar is the captain and an important connection to the previous generation of players.
The new-look Indian squad has already shown that it can adapt quickly at international level. The Indian men started their Group A campaign on September 21, defeating hosts Japan by 49-24. Following the victory, they scored another 63-31 win against the Republic of Korea on September 22.
While these victories have helped to provide international exposure to the young players, the knockouts will be a completely different challenge. The Indians are placed in Group A along with Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei. The top two teams from each group progress to the semi-finals on September 25, with the gold medal match fixed for September 26.
Given the number of debutants, the role of leadership becomes even more important for the team. The captain of the team is Sunil Kumar, and the vice-captain is Pawan Sehrawat. They are two of the four players retained from India’s Hangzhou 2022 gold-medal-winning squad.
In terms of the coaching staff, the team can boast a considerable amount of experience. Balwan Singh will be the head coach for this Indian team, and B.C. Ramesh will assist him. The former has led India to win Asian Games Gold Medals in the past, while the latter has rich coaching experience in Pro Kabaddi.
While the immediate objective for India is to make it into the semi-finals by securing top-two finishes in Group A, the biggest potential challenge remains Iran. With Iran in Group B, the two teams are separated in the group stage and can only meet later in the knockout rounds depending on their final group positions.. Iran is still considered one of the dominant teams in Asian kabaddi. The other teams in this group include Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand, and Malaysia.
India has become the defending champions of the men’s Asian Games after winning the event in Hangzhou in 2022. So far, the country has won eight men kabaddi gold medals in the Asian Games, and the present team has the potential to increase this tally. However, this event will serve as an introduction for the future generations of Indian kabaddi players.
From their performance so far, it is clear that they have managed to adjust themselves well, but the upcoming fixtures will prove their mettle. The progress of the Asian Games can be followed on the 1xBet app, with the young squad of India trying to build on their promising start.
