The Indian women’s kabaddi team went on an unbeaten run through its campaign, beating Iran to clinch the 2026 Asian Games gold medal on Saturday.

The dominant Indian side edged out Iran in a tense final clash at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium in Aichi-Nagoya, winning the contest by a 37-34 margin.

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The gold medal triumph was only India’s third of the ongoing Asiad competition, following the women’s cricket team and the shooting pair of Suruchi Singh Phogat and Kamaljeet in the 10m Air Pistol mixed team event on Friday.

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India had annihilated Bangladesh and Japan in their Pool A games earlier in the tournament. They had also beaten Iran in the group-stages to seal the top spot.

The women’s kabaddi event has been a part of the Asian Games since the 2010 edition. India have won the gold medal in every previous edition of the continental event, except the 2018 Jakarta Games where they finished second behind Iran.

The gold medal marked India’s third medal of Day 8, following a historic Men’s Marathon silver medal for Sawan Barwal and a bronze medal in squash for Joshana Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar.

This is India’s 12th gold medal in Kabaddi at the Asian Games, with the men contributing eight since 1990. The Indian men’s team will be in finals action later on Saturday, taking on Iran in the gold-medal match.

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Women’s Kabaddi all-time Asian Games medal tally

As of September 26, 2026