Asian Games: Indian men's kabaddi team advances to final after defeating Pakistan; Eyes on Gold

Indian men's kabaddi team hammered arch-rival Pakistan by 61-14 in the semifinal clash to book a place in the final of the ongoing 19th Asian Games on Friday.

Hangzhou:The Indian men's Kabaddi team comfortably won against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asian Games semi-finals to book a place in the final of the ongoing 19th Asian Games on Friday.

The Indian players thrashed Pakistan with the scoreline of 61-14 and showcased their A-Game in this semifinal.

At the halftime, the Indian side possessed a staggering lead by 30-5. Following a quick set of points for Pakistan initially, Indian raiders and defenders have steadily piled on the points. After Pakistan's early four points, Naveen Kumar spearheaded the Indian comeback, while skipper Pawan Sehrawat came as a helping hand.

The Indian side made sure that they left no ways open for Pakistan to make a comeback even in the 2nd half. India continued where they left off, adding 31 points to the 30 they had at the break, though Pakistan would have been relieved to reach double digits.

Pawan and Naveen together made the Indian raiding department rock solid to break the Pak defence. Aslam Inamdar, Sachin Tanwar, and Akash Shinde palyed their part in the second half.

In the gold medal match, India will face the winner of the second semifinal between Iran and Chinese Taipei on Saturday.

Team India have won seven consecutive gold medals at the continental showpiece, with only a shocker that came after the semifinal loss to Iran at the Jakarta Games, making it the first time the Indian side to fail in making it to the final since the sport was included in the curriculum in 1990.