Asian Games 2023: India Thrash Pakistan 61-14 In Kabaddi Semi-Finals

Indian men's kabaddi team hammered arch-rival Pakistan by 61-14 in the semifinal clash to book a place in the final of the ongoing 19th Asian Games on Friday. India showcased their A-Game in this semifinal and booked a berth in the final.

The Indian team led Pakistan 30-5 at halftime in the semifinal of the Asian Games. Following a quick set of points for Pakistan, Indian raiders and defenders have steadily piled on the points.

In the first half of the men's kabaddi semi-final, India inflicted three all-outs. After Pakistan's early point surge, Naveen Kumar spearheaded the Indian comeback, while skipper Pawan Sehrawat made a spectacular raid.

Pakistan's defence fail to maintain the required consistency:

After halftime, India continued where they left off, adding 31 points to the 30 they had at the break, though Pakistan would have been relieved to reach double digits. The Pakistan defence appeared to provide a challenge to India for a brief while at the start, but after those couple of tackles, the Indian raiders blasted them apart to book their place in gold medal match.

Pawan and Naveen had all-outs in the first half, and Aslam Inamdar, Sachin Tanwar, and Akash Shinde had all-outs in the second. Vishal Bhardwaj was the defensive standout, calmly executing ankle holds from the left corner position. In the gold medal match, India will face the winner of the second semifinal between Iran and Chinese Taipei on Saturday.