The final medal events day for India at the Asian Games saw the men’s Kabaddi team defeat Iran 33-29 to win the Gold medal. India’s medal tally went past 100 at the Hangzhou Games and the men’s kabaddi team joined the women in completing a fine double for the country.
India bagged their 7th Gold medal in 8 editions of kabaddi at the Asian Games. India women’s kabaddi team defeated Taiwan in a thriller in the final earlier on Saturday. The men’s final between powerhouses India and Iran exceeded the expectations and it was quite a battle.
India defeated Iran 33-29 but there was a 45-minute delay as Iran protested the referee’s decision to award India 3 points with just over a minute left on the clock. The Iran players protested on the court as their coaches led the argument with the referees.
The chaos broke out when Pawan Sehrawat of the Indian team was put out, and Iran scored a point. Pawan protested that he was out of bounds without being touched. This led to a review where India demanded four points, while Iran asked for Pawan’s point. The initial decision awarded one point each, leading to Pawan and Bastami of Iran being declared out.
However, this decision was soon overturned, causing confusion. According to the International Kabaddi Federation rule 21, India would get 3 points after Pawan’s raid. But Iran protested this, arguing that a new rule, used in Pro Kabaddi League, would give the two teams one point each. The situation escalated into chaos, with the AKFI secretary-general stepping in to check the video. Eventually, India were awarded 3 points for the raid.
