The six-nation Kabaddi Masters men’s tournament, held in Dubai a little over a month ago, was viewed as an ideal preparation for the Asian Games.
India, South Korea, Iran and Pakistan were the Asian nations which competed in Dubai, and the event was a chance for the sides to size up their rivals ahead of the continental mega-event.
The results followed a familiar script. Heavy favourite India dominated proceedings, winning all of its six matches to emerge victorious. The Ajay Thakur-led side whipped Pakistan and Kenya twice each in the group stage, before taking out South Korea and Iran in the semifinal and final respectively.
In the summit clash against Iran, India came out with a point to prove. There was extra bite in the tackles, and there were plenty of over-the-top celebrations. So much so that at the post-match press conference, Iran coach Gholamreza Mazandarani accused the Indian team of not playing in the right spirit.
The Indians, meanwhile, managed to well and truly quash all those who questioned their heavyweight status.
With Pakistan suffering a big dip in recent form, India can expect its biggest challenge to come from South Korea and Iran at Jakarta.
The athletic South Koreans are renowned for their quick sideways movements on the court, while Iran is respected for being tough tacklers. The others in the Jakarta field — the likes of host Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Japan — will pose little or no threat to the more established sides.
All said and done, only an off-day can prevent the Indian men from taking their eighth straight gold medal.
Match-winning raiders
In Ajay Thakur, Manu Goyat, Rahul Chaudhari, Pardeep Narwal and Rohit Kumar, the unit has five match-winning raiders. The defence is held firm by Mohit Chhillar and Girish Ernak. Deepak Hooda and Sandeep Narwal are all-rounders of repute. Weaknesses are few, if not completely absent.
The Indian women’s team has been similarly dominant. Iran is the other main contender, but the Western Asian nation is yet to conquer the Indian peak.
In the 2017 Asian kabaddi championships, India remained unbeaten and claimed the trophy with a win over host Iran in the final. India has also won the two gold medals on offer since women’s kabaddi made its Asian Games debut in 2010.
All-rounder Sakshi Kumari can get the job on both halves of the court, and Sonali Shingate is one of the best attackers going around.
The Indian team, and women’s kabaddi in general, suffers from a lack of exposure.
The women do not feature in the ProKabaddi League (PKL), and international tournaments are few and far between. Any ring rust must be quickly erased, as the chance to grab the spotlight at a big event does not come too often.
