Taiwan’s women’s kabaddi team on Monday settled for a silver medal after losing to India 35-28 in the Women’s World Cup final.
Played by two teams of seven, kabaddi is a fast-paced contact sport in which players try to tag opponents and return to their side without being tackled. Matches consist of two 20-minute halves with a five-minute break.
Points are awarded for successful tags, while defenders earn a point for tackling the raider. Tagged or tackled players are temporarily out, but can re-enter when their team scores.
Photo: CNA
In Monday’s final, Taiwan got off to a strong start, taking a 12-9 lead, but a defensive attempt to tackle an opponent backfired when an India player broke free and reached the midline, costing Taiwan four points.
India seized the momentum, sending Taiwan into halftime trailing 20-16.
Taiwan also took a hit from a referee’s decision. Under kabaddi rules, only the defenders who make contact with the raider are supposed to be ruled out if the raider escapes.
Only two Taiwan players had made contact on the play, but after a video review, the referee ruled that four defenders were involved, Taiwan coach Tsai Wei-yang said.
“That decision really hurt our morale,” Tsai said.
In the second half, Taiwan tried to mount a comeback, but India’s towering lineup — including four players taller than 1.8m — gradually pulled away in points, handing Taiwan the defeat.
This marked another narrow loss to India for the Taiwan women’s kabaddi team, following a one-point defeat at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
“The loss was a bitter one,” Tsai said, but he added that despite settling for silver again, the team’s defense had improved greatly in this World Cup, unlike at the Hangzhou Asian Games, when victories relied almost entirely on offense.
The coach said that the Asian Games to be held in Nagoya, Japan, next year would likely feature the same group of players.
“After returning to Taiwan, we will do more analysis and research to figure out how to overcome India’s lineup,” he said.
The Women’s Kabaddi World Cup was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from Nov. 17 to Monday. Eleven countries took part in the tournament.
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