India's Men's And Women's Kabaddi Teams Both Storm Into Asian Games 2026 Finals

India's kabaddi contingent delivered a statement on Friday, with both the men's and women's teams romping into the gold-medal matches at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, keeping the country's defending champions unbeaten through the tournament.

Women Blow Past Nepal

India's women's team took apart Nepal 48-24 in the semifinal, built on a dominant first half in which the Indians raced to a 31-17 lead through four all-out points and four bonus points. Nepal never found a way back into the contest, managing only seven more points across the second half as India comfortably shut the game down and booked their spot in the final.

The result extends a strong run for the women's side through this edition of the Games, reinforcing India's position as the team to beat in women's kabaddi on the continental stage.

Men Overwhelm Thailand

The men's semifinal followed a near-identical script. India surged to a 37-18 lead by half-time and never let Thailand back into contention, closing out a 66-28 win. The gap in the numbers told the story of a lopsided contest: India recorded 43 tackle-and-raid outs to Thailand's 20, claimed eight all-out points against Thailand's two, and picked up 15 bonus points compared to the Thais' five. It was a comprehensive statement of dominance from a team that has now cruised through the tournament without dropping a match.

What's Next

Both India teams remain unbeaten heading into Saturday's gold-medal matches, extending their run as defending champions from the previous edition of the Games. The women's team's final opponent will be decided separately, while India's men await the winner of the other semifinal between Iran and Chinese Taipei to find out who they will face for the title.

Kabaddi has long been one of India's most reliable sources of gold medals at multi-sport events in Asia, given the sport's origins and the depth of domestic competition that feeds the national teams. A clean sweep of both finals on Saturday would extend that dominance and add two more golds to India's overall medal tally at these Games, at a point in the competition where the country has already been picking up medals across shooting, athletics and hockey.

Why It Matters For India's Overall Campaign

With both kabaddi finals now locked in, India heads into the weekend with a realistic shot at two more gold medals in a sport where its teams have rarely been beaten on the continental stage in recent editions. Coaches and players will now turn their focus to recovery and preparation over the one day between the semifinals and the finals, a quick turnaround typical of the compressed kabaddi schedule at multi-sport Games. For a contingent looking to maximise its overall medal count in Aichi-Nagoya, two kabaddi finals on the same day represent one of the more straightforward paths to add to the gold tally before the Games draw to a close.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.