India men’s and women’s teams dominate winners list for kabaddi at Asian Games

One of India’s native sports, kabaddi is one of the country’s indigenous sports that requires players to combine agility, strength and strategy.

It is believed to have been played recreationally by Gautam Buddha - the founder of Buddhism - and has a rich history in the Indian subcontinent dating back 4000 years.

On the global stage, kabaddi first came into the limelight in 1936 when it was showcased as an exhibition sport before the commencement of the Berlin Olympics.

The sport though rapidly grew in popularity over the last century, particularly in Asia, and was included as a demonstration sport at the 1951 and 1982 Asian Games.

However, it was in 1990 that kabaddi received the rightful exposure that it deserved on the international stage after being included in the Asian Games programme for its 1990 edition in Beijing, China.

Ever since 1990, kabaddi has been a part of all the Asian Games programmes that have followed.

Kabaddi at the Asian Games was solely a men’s only competition up until 2006. However, 2010 saw the introduction of the women’s kabaddi event and it has remained a permanent fixture in all subsequent Asian Games programmes.

The Indian kabaddi teams - both men’s and women’s - have dominated the sport at the Asian Games over the years.

The 1990 Asian Games saw an unbeaten Indian team win gold after competing with five other teams in a single round-robin format for the men’s event.

The next three editions of the Asian Games followed the same round-robin format for men’s kabaddi and India triumphed to clinch gold in each of those editions, not losing even one game along the way.

The following three Asian Games from 2006 to 2014 introduced knockout fixtures after the league stage round-robin matches but it made no difference to the Indian juggernaut as they continued to win gold without losing a single match.

India’s stranglehold on gold at kabaddi in the Asian Games was finally broken by Iran in 2018 when they upset the kabaddi heavyweights by condemning them to a defeat in the semi-finals. As a result, India bagged bronze instead of gold at the Asian Games in 2018. However, India's men's and women's teams reclaimed gold in the next edition of the Asian Games.

In the women’s kabaddi event, India has won three of the four editions in 2010, 2014 and 2022. They lost the 2018 edition of the Asian Games to Iran.

Asian Games kabaddi winners list men

Asian Games kabaddi winners list women

 Photo credit: Alamy