India eyes 6th title at 2025 Asian Women’s Kabaddi
The 2025 Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship will begin on March 4 in Tehran, Iran after eight years. The event ends on March 9 and has seven teams: India (defending champions), Iran (hosts), Malaysia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Thailand.
India has ruled this competition, winning four of the last five times. The only loss came in 2016 when South Korea took the title. India last won in 2017 in Gorgan, Iran and now aims to keep its winning streak.
Squad and key players
India's team has 12 players, with both experienced and new talent. Sonali Shingate is the captain. She led Indian Railways to win the Senior National Women’s Kabaddi Championship. Pushpa Rana from Himachal Pradesh is the vice-captain. She also plays as an all-rounder.
India has chosen a strong attacking team, including:
Raiders:
- Sonali Shingate (Captain)
- Pooja Kajila
- Pooja Narwal
- Nidhi Sharma
- Amrapali Galande
- Neha Daksh
- Sanju Devi
Defenders:
- Jyoti Thakur (Right corner)
- Sakshi Sharma
- Bhavna Devi
- Ritu
All-rounder:
- Pushpa Rana (Vice-captain)
This tournament is crucial practice for the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup, which will take off later this year in Bihar. Chinese Taipei is not playing, so India’s biggest rival is Iran, the 2022 Asian Games runner-up.
India has been playing well. They won gold at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games with a close 26-25 win over Chinese Taipei. That win gave India its 100th medal in the event. Now, they want to keep winning in Tehran and get their fifth title in six tournaments. The tournament runs from March 4 to March 9, with India as the top team.
