Hangzhou: The Indian contingent crossed the 100-medal milestone after the Indian women's team bagged gold defeating Chinese Taipei 26-25 in the women's Kabaddi final at the Asian Games here on Saturday.
This is the women's kabaddi team's third title triumph in the continental showpiece, doing one better than its runner-up finish in the last edition of the Games in Indonesia and fulfilling the country's expectations of touching the historic three-figure mark for the first time.
It was a very difficult outing for the Indian women as Chinese Taipei pushed them to the limit in the final, missing out on the top prize by just a solitary point.
The Indian team showed nerves of steel in the last two raids to seal the contest in its favour. India had a five-point lead going into half-time, courtesy of a super raid from Pooja, who was one of the stars of the intense title showdown that also saw the team's coach being cautioned with a green card.
The Indian women's kabaddi team took a 14-9 lead against Chinese Taipei in the gold medal match at the Asian Games 2023. The two teams had played out a 34-34 tie in their campaign opener at Hangzhou.
The Indian raiders scored six bonus points in the first half. In the second half, Chinese Taipei took the lead and scored 16 points, while the Indians managed to get only 12 points. However, the Indian raiders scored two bonus points in the second half. But in the end, due to their stellar performance in the first half, the Indian kabaddi players clinched a 26-25 win against Chinese Taipei.
Earlier on Thursday, India defeated Nepal 61-17 in the semi-final match of the event to reach the final of the women's kabaddi.
India and the Islamic Republic of Iran will lock horns in the men's kabaddi final at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou at 12:30 PM IST today. India currently stands in fourth place in the medal tally with a total of 100 medals.
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