Asian Games 2026 Kabaddi: India Women Beat Iran 37-23; Men Thrash Bangladesh 48-25 to Reach Semifinals
India stayed unbeaten in Asian Games 2026 kabaddi as the women defeated Iran 37-23 and the men beat Bangladesh 48-25 to seal a semifinal berth. Check scores, qualification status and India’s next matches.
Indian kabaddi teams competing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 after victories over Iran and Bangladesh
Table of Contents (26 sections)
India's men's and women's kabaddi teams strengthened their Asian Games 2026 campaigns on Wednesday, September 23, with important victories over Bangladesh and Iran at the Tokai Citizens Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture.
The Indian men's team defeated Bangladesh 48-25, recording its third consecutive Group A victory and officially securing a place in the semifinals.
India's women, meanwhile, defeated traditional rivals Iran 37-23 in a significant Group A contest, remaining unbeaten and moving closer to the knockout stage ahead of their final group match against hosts Japan.
The two results underline India's strong start in a sport where both national teams entered the Games among the leading medal contenders.
But their qualification situations are slightly different.
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India's men are already through to the semifinals.
India's women are in a strong position after two wins but still have their final Group A match against Japan on September 24.
Key Takeaways
India Women beat Iran 37-23 and remain unbeaten.
India Men defeated Bangladesh 48-25 and qualified for the semifinals.
Women next face Japan on September 24.
Men next face Chinese Taipei on September 24.
Semifinals scheduled for September 25; finals on September 26.
India Kabaddi Results on September 23
Team
Opponent
Result
Current position
India Women
Iran
India won 37-23
Unbeaten; close to semifinal qualification
India Men
Bangladesh
India won 48-25
Qualified for semifinals
India Women Beat Iran 37-23
The women's contest carried particular significance because India and Iran have developed one of Asian kabaddi's strongest rivalries.
Iran started the match well and built an early 8-4 advantage, forcing India to recover rather than controlling the contest from the opening whistle.
India's turnaround was driven in part by Pooja, whose important raids helped reduce Iran's advantage before bringing India level. A successful multi-point raid shifted momentum towards the defending champions.
India subsequently moved ahead and entered half-time leading 19-15.
The second half was more one-sided.
India scored 18 points compared with Iran's eight after the break, gradually widening the gap and completing a 37-23 victory.
India's final scoring included bonus points, All-Out points and a Super Tackle as its defence increasingly restricted Iran's attack.
Why the Iran Win Matters
This was not simply another group-stage result.
Iran defeated India 27-24 in the women's final at Jakarta 2018, which remains the only Asian Games women's kabaddi final India has lost.
India later regained the title at Hangzhou.
That history made Wednesday's meeting one of the most anticipated matches of the women's group stage.
Iran also arrived in strong form after beating Japan and Bangladesh convincingly earlier in the competition.
The 37-23 victory therefore provided a useful indication of India's medal credentials, although stronger performances will still be required in the knockout stage if India qualifies.
India Women's Asian Games 2026 Results So Far
India opened its women's campaign by beating Bangladesh 42-21.
After a rest day, the defending champions returned against Iran and won 37-23.
Their campaign now stands:
Match
Result
India vs Bangladesh
India won 42-21
India vs Iran
India won 37-23
India vs Japan
September 24
India are unbeaten after their opening two games.
Have India Women Qualified for the Semifinals?
The Iran victory puts India very close to qualification, but it is more accurate not to describe the semifinal place as formally sealed yet.
Pro Kabaddi's post-match report described India as having moved closer to the semifinals and identified the Japan fixture as the match in which India can confirm its place.
That distinction matters because Group A contains:
India, Iran, Japan and Bangladesh.
Each team plays the other three once, with the top two advancing to the semifinals.
India therefore still has one group fixture remaining.
India Women Next Match: Japan
India will face Japan on Thursday, September 24 at 4:15 PM IST in their final women's Group A fixture.
The hosts represent another important test before the medal rounds.
For India, the immediate objective will be to confirm qualification while attempting to finish the group stage unbeaten.
A comfortable victory could also strengthen confidence before the semifinals, but the earlier results do not guarantee the outcome against Japan.
India Men Beat Bangladesh 48-25
India's men's team produced an even more decisive result against Bangladesh.
The defending champions won 48-25, making it three wins from three in Group A and securing their semifinal place.
India controlled the match particularly strongly in the first half.
The team scored 18 out points and seven bonus points before half-time, while also completing two All-Outs.
Bangladesh managed five out points and three bonus points during the same period, plus a Super Tackle.
India therefore went into the break with a commanding 29-9 lead.
Bangladesh Improved After Half-Time
Bangladesh produced a more competitive second half.
The team scored 16 points after the break, including eight out points and eight bonus points.
India nevertheless added another 19 points of its own and completed another All-Out, preventing Bangladesh from turning the match into a serious comeback.
The final margin was 23 points: India 48, Bangladesh 25.
India Men Seal Semifinal Place
Unlike the women's qualification situation, India's men's status is already clear.
The Bangladesh victory officially ensured India's progression from Group A into the semifinals.
India have won all three of their matches so far:
Match
Score
India vs Japan
49-24
India vs Republic of Korea
63-31
India vs Bangladesh
48-25
Across those three games, India have scored 160 points while conceding 80.
That scoring record reflects a strong group-stage start, although semifinal opposition is likely to present a different challenge.
India Men Next Match: Chinese Taipei
India's final men's Group A match is against Chinese Taipei on September 24 at 9:45 AM IST.
Because India's semifinal qualification is already secured, the match will primarily determine the team's final group position and provide another competitive opportunity before the knockout rounds.
Chinese Taipei should not simply be dismissed.
The team won bronze at the previous Asian Games and has already produced competitive performances in Japan, including a 43-37 victory over the Republic of Korea on September 23.
India will therefore still have reasons to approach the final group match seriously.
India’s Men's Kabaddi Campaign So Far
India began against hosts Japan and won 49-24.
The second match was even more emphatic, with India defeating South Korea 63-31 after leading 34-14 at half-time.
The Bangladesh victory completed the team's third consecutive win.
The run demonstrates consistent scoring across the opening phase rather than reliance on one isolated large victory.
India have also repeatedly forced opposition All-Outs, helping create substantial margins.
Who Captains India?
Sunil Kumar is captain of India's men's kabaddi team, with Pawan Sehrawat serving as vice-captain.
The men's side is coached by Balwan Singh.
The women's team is led by Pushpa Rana, with Sonali Shingate as vice-captain.
Neeta Dadwe is head coach of the women's team.
These squads are attempting to continue India's historically strong Asian Games record in kabaddi.
India's Asian Games Kabaddi Record
India has traditionally been the most successful country in Asian Games kabaddi.
The men's competition has been part of the Asian Games since Beijing 1990, while women's kabaddi was added at Guangzhou 2010.
According to the Asian Games tournament information published by Pro Kabaddi, Indian teams had won 11 of the first 13 men's and women's kabaddi titles combined before the 2026 tournament.
India's men had won eight of the previous nine men's titles, with their only failure to win gold coming at Jakarta 2018.
Iran won that men's tournament after defeating India in the semifinal.
India's women had won three of the first four women's titles before Aichi-Nagoya, with Iran's 2018 victory representing the exception.
Why India vs Iran Is a Major Women's Rivalry
Iran's emergence changed the competitive landscape of Asian women's kabaddi.
India dominated the early editions before Iran defeated them in the 2018 final.
At Hangzhou, India reclaimed the women's title, while Chinese Taipei also emerged as a significant challenger.
That means the 37-23 result in Aichi-Nagoya is encouraging for India but should not be interpreted as guaranteeing another gold medal.
The semifinals and final remain separate contests with potentially different opponents and match dynamics.
How the Asian Games 2026 Kabaddi Tournament Works
The men's and women's competitions use different group sizes.
Men's tournament
Ten teams are split into two groups of five.
Each team plays four group matches.
The top two from each group qualify for the semifinals.
Women's tournament
Eight teams are divided into two groups of four.
Each side plays three group matches.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals.
The group phase runs through September 24.
The semifinals are scheduled for September 25.
When Are the Kabaddi Semifinals?
The men's and women's Asian Games kabaddi semifinals are scheduled for Friday, September 25.
India's men's team is already assured of participation.
India's women can confirm their place after the conclusion of Group A.
The identity of India's semifinal opponents will depend on the final standings across both groups.
When Are the Kabaddi Finals?
Both gold-medal matches are scheduled for September 26.
According to the published tournament schedule:
Women's final: 9:30 AM IST
Men's final: 2:30 PM IST
There is no separate bronze-medal match.
Both losing semifinalists receive bronze medals.
That makes qualification for the semifinals particularly important: reaching the final four guarantees a medal under this competition format.
Does India Men Already Have a Medal?
India's men have qualified for the semifinals, but the group-stage result should not yet be reported as a completed medal result.
The tournament format means semifinal participants are ultimately in medal position because both losing semifinalists receive bronze.
However, official medal allocation follows the competition's progression and results.
The safest live-news wording for now is that India have qualified for the semifinals and moved into the medal rounds.
What India Women Need Against Japan
India's women enter the Japan match after wins over Bangladesh and Iran.
The clearest objective is straightforward: produce another positive result and remove any remaining qualification uncertainty.
India's defence improved considerably against Iran after the opening phase, while the attack became increasingly effective through the match.
Those trends are encouraging but should not be projected automatically onto the Japan game.
Each opponent presents different raiding and defensive patterns.
Strong Day for Indian Kabaddi
The September 23 results were particularly valuable because both teams faced opponents capable of complicating their group-stage campaigns.
Iran represented the most historically significant women's challenge.
Bangladesh had already produced competitive men's results in the group, including wins over South Korea and Chinese Taipei before facing India.
India nevertheless emerged from both matches with double-digit winning margins.
That keeps both sides unbeaten going into the final day of group competition.
September 24: India Kabaddi Schedule
Men: India vs Chinese Taipei — 9:45 AM IST
Women: India vs Japan — 4:15 PM IST
The men's team has already qualified.
The women's match will determine India's final Group A position and could formally confirm the defending champions' semifinal place.
Latest Verified Position
As of the end of India's September 23 kabaddi matches:
India Women defeated Iran 37-23.
India Women remain unbeaten after also beating Bangladesh 42-21.
The women next face Japan at 4:15 PM IST on September 24.
India's women's semifinal place should not yet be described as formally confirmed.
India Men defeated Bangladesh 48-25.
The men's team has won three consecutive Group A matches.
India Men have qualified for the semifinals.
The men next meet Chinese Taipei at 9:45 AM IST on September 24.
The semifinals are scheduled for September 25 and the gold-medal matches for September 26.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the India vs Iran women's kabaddi score?
India defeated Iran 37-23 in their Asian Games 2026 women's Group A match.
Who starred for India against Iran?
Pooja played an important role in India's comeback, including key raids after Iran had taken an early lead.
Have India Women qualified for the semifinals?
India are in a strong position after two victories, but their semifinal place should not yet be described as formally confirmed. They face Japan in their final group fixture.
When is India Women vs Japan?
The match is scheduled for September 24 at 4:15 PM IST.
What was India vs Bangladesh men's kabaddi score?
India defeated Bangladesh 48-25.
Have India Men qualified for the semifinals?
Yes. The Bangladesh victory officially secured India's men's semifinal place.
When is India's men's next kabaddi match?
India face Chinese Taipei on September 24 at 9:45 AM IST.
How many matches have India Men won?
India have won all three of their matches so far, defeating Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh.
When are the Asian Games kabaddi semifinals?
The semifinals are scheduled for September 25.
When are the kabaddi finals?
Both finals take place on September 26, with the women's final scheduled for 9:30 AM IST and the men's final for 2:30 PM IST.
Bottom Line
India’s kabaddi teams delivered strong results on September 23. The women defeated traditional rivals Iran 37-23 to stay unbeaten, while the men thrashed Bangladesh 48-25 to seal their semifinal place.
The women next face Japan on September 24 to confirm qualification. Semifinals are scheduled for September 25 and the gold-medal matches for September 26.
Key Takeaway
India Women beat Iran 37-23.
India Men beat Bangladesh 48-25 and qualify for semis.
The Rajatheertha Team publishes news, explainers, guides and updates across India and the world. Our coverage follows Rajatheertha's editorial, verification and corrections standards.
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