The totally perfunctory acknowledgement of their victory highlighted the ease with which the Indian men’s kabaddi team advanced to the final, even a 61-14 scoreline in the semifinal against Pakistan on October 6 not being an accurate representation of India’s dominance on the mat. The final, against defending champion Iran, will be the toughest outing for the Indians here and a chance to go back on top after the shocking bronze in 2018.
It started with four points to Pakistan in its first two raids and then one with 12 minutes remaining in the first half — but those were to be its only points in the period. India’s charge began with its third raid, led by Naveen Kumar. He got two points with an out and a bonus, repeated the pattern immediately after to level scores at 4-4 and then Mudassar Ali was successfully tackled. With only two players left standing, Naveen effected an all-out on Pakistan – the first of six by India through the match, three in each half -- for four points as India went up 11-4 inside of seven minutes.
