India made a commanding start to the defence of their women’s kabaddi title at the 2026 Asian Games, defeating Bangladesh 42-21 in their opening Group A match at the Tokai Citizens Gymnasium in Aichi-Nagoya.
The defending champions controlled the contest from the opening raid, building an 11-point lead by half-time before maintaining the same intensity after the interval to register a comfortable victory.
India Dominate From the Start
India quickly settled into their rhythm, combining disciplined defence with efficient raiding to establish control of the contest.
Bangladesh captain Sraboni Mollick fought hard to keep her team in touch, but India’s organised defensive unit consistently denied scoring opportunities while their raiders continued to add points at regular intervals.
By the end of the first half, India had built a commanding 21-10 advantage after forcing an all out and limiting Bangladesh’s attacking options.
Sanju Devi Leads the Attack
Sanju Devi was the standout performer, producing a series of successful raids throughout the match and providing India with a steady flow of points whenever Bangladesh attempted to reduce the deficit.
Captain Pushpa Rana and Sonali Shingate also made important contributions in attack, while Manisha Kumari impressed in the left cover position with several crucial defensive interventions.
India maintained their aggressive approach after the break, with Sanju Devi and Pooja collecting quick touch points as the defence continued to pressure Bangladesh’s raiders high up the mat.
The pressure resulted in another all out, allowing India to extend their advantage further.
Bangladesh Show Brief Resistance
Bangladesh enjoyed their best spell midway through the second half. Sraboni Mollick led a short-lived comeback as the raiders collected consecutive points, while the defence briefly succeeded in slowing India’s momentum.
The gap narrowed during the closing stages, but India quickly regained complete control.
Sanju Devi responded with another sequence of successful raids, ensuring the defending champions comfortably closed out a 42-21 victory.
India finished with 11 bonus points and four all-out points, while Bangladesh collected five bonus points and one Super Tackle point.
Pushpa Rana Begins Captaincy on a Winning Note
The victory marked a successful start for Pushpa Rana in her first major tournament as India’s captain. Pushpa Rana has taken over the captaincy from Ritu Negi, who led India to gold at Hangzhou 2022.
Both players come from the Shillai region of Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, with Pushpa following the path established by Ritu before now inheriting the captaincy.
The smooth leadership transition has given India valuable continuity heading into another medal campaign.
Iran Clash Is the Most Important of the Tournament
While the comfortable win over Bangladesh provided an ideal opening, India now face what is widely expected to be their toughest group-stage challenge.
Their next match comes against Iran, the only nation to have denied India the women’s Asian Games kabaddi title. Iran defeated India in the final at Jakarta 2018, handing them their only defeat since women’s kabaddi became an official Asian Games event.
India have won gold medals in 2010, 2014 and 2022, while Iran claimed the remaining title in 2018.
Group A consists of India, Iran, Japan and Bangladesh, with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals.There is no bronze-medal match in Asian Games kabaddi, and both losing semi-finalists receive bronze.
The meeting between India and Iran is expected to determine the group winners before India conclude the league stage against hosts Japan.
The semi-finals will be played on Friday, while the women’s gold-medal match is scheduled for Saturday at 9:30 AM IST.
After a dominant opening performance against Bangladesh, India have taken the first step in their quest to retain the Asian Games crown, but their biggest examination now awaits against the only team to have interrupted their dominance on the continental stage.
