Pro League Kabaddi: India's performance at Asian Games

It was finally in 1990 that it was included as a sport in the Asian Games and the Indian Kabaddi players got an opportunity to showcase their talent on an international platform. 

In 1990 when the tournament began, it was played in a simple round-robin format where all teams competed with each other. The first-ever countries to take part in the tournament were India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Japan and China. India won all matches and won the first Asian Games Kabaddi gold medal. The round-robin format continued till 2002, and the Indian team remained undefeated. 

It was finally in the 2006 Asian Games that the pattern was altered just a bit. In addition to the round-robin format, a knockout round was added at the end. In this new pattern, the top two teams on the tally fought for the title, and the next two teams on the list competed for the bronze medal. Despite the change in pattern, India remained triumphant and defeated Pakistan in an epic final to win the gold medal.

It was finally in 2010 that the Kabaddi sport in the women's category was also introduced in Asiad. The pattern changed again to include a group stage followed by knockout rounds. The pattern was the same for both the men's and the women's tournaments, and once again, both were won by the Indian teams. This time, the Indian men's team defeated Iran, who had reached the finals for the first time. 

In 2014, the men's and the women's teams again won gold medals by defeating the Iran teams. Iran had once again succeeded in reaching the finals, this time not only in the men's category but also in the women's. India defeated Iran in both categories, but this winning streak didn't last any longer. In 2018, the Indian Kabaddi teams (both men and women) lost the tournament for the first time. While the men's team returned home with a bronze, the women's team closed the match with silver. 

It was the first time in 2018 that India lost at Kabaddi. The Indian team was overconfident and didn't realise that Iran, which was getting better at the sport each day, had it all prepared to win the tournament this time. Unfortunately, the Indian winning streak broke in 2018, and Iran won the tournament for the first time. The 2022 Asian Games have been postponed due to the recent COVID -19 outbreak and are most likely to be held next year. India has an opportunity to redeem its reputation in the game this time. It remains to be seen who wins the tournament, given that Iranian players are successfully rising in the game.