India’s kabaddi doppelganger! The men beat Iran to defend gold after the women’s triumph at the Asian Games

Indian summit deals with Iran’s Amirhossein Taghipour. (Photo by Reuters) NEW DELHI: India completed a kabaddi golden double at the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday as the men’s team beat Iran 40-34 in a thrilling final, just hours after the women beat the same opponents to retain the title.The men’s victory in Aichi-Nagoya gave India their ninth Asian Games gold in men’s kabaddi and successfully defended the title won at the Hangzhou edition. The two kabaddi gold medals also took India’s medal tally to 28 – four gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze, taking the country into the top ten rankings.It was another thrilling encounter against Iran, the 2018 Asian Games champions, with neither side able to gain sustained control for long periods. But India held their nerve in a roller-coaster second half before pulling away late to secure the gold.Asian Games full coverage | Medal Tally | Schedule

India-Iran trade in tense finale

The final started evenly, after the first eight minutes the teams were tied 5:5. India then managed to build a small advantage to go 12-9 ahead, but Iran responded strongly to turn the match around.With less than five minutes left in the first half, Iran took a 14-13 lead. India responded by taking the advantage at 16-14, only for Iran to strike again.The momentum continued between the two sides and Iran eventually went into the break leading 18-17.India needed a strong response after the restart but Iran extended their advantage to 20-17. A crucial super tackle helped India reduce the deficit to 19-20 before the defending champions finally took a 21-20 lead.Iran immediately equalized at 21-21, which only underlined how little separated the two teams.India then started to build some breathing room and moved 24-21 ahead. Iran responded with a super tackle of their own to score two points to cut India’s lead to 24-23.The game remained close but India produced a crucial breakthrough with an all-out that put them five points ahead at 29-24 with 10 minutes remaining.

The men follow the women to complete the golden double

From there, India controlled the contest effectively. Iran continued to push for a comeback, but the Indian defense held firm and the offense kept adding points to maintain the upper hand.India eventually closed out the final 40-34 to complete the kabaddi double and retain the men’s title.The result also gave India its fourth gold of the Games and moved the country into the top 10 of the overall medal standings.Earlier on Saturday, the Indian women’s kabaddi team set the stage for the double by defeating Iran 37-34 in another close final.The women also successfully defended the gold won in Hangzhou. India held their nerve during a tense closing phase as Iran tried to force a late comeback.With just a minute left and Iran needing points to stay in contention, India’s defense produced a crucial tackle on Aynaz to effectively seal the match.India eventually won 37-34, with Sanju Devi once again playing a key role after being one of the team’s best players throughout the tournament.It was a statement day for Indian kabaddi: two finals against Iran, two wins and two gold medals, with both the men’s and women’s teams successfully defending their titles at the Asian Games.