How Team India Prepared for Asian Kabaddi Championship

India has been the most successful team in the Asian Kabaddi Championship. Starting from their 1st victory in 1980, India has won eight out of the nine Asian Kabaddi Championships so far. The only time the team lost was in Kangar, Malaysia in 2003. Other than that India has managed to win the gold medal in every single competition. Even in 2023, they emerged victorious by defeating Iran in the final.

The competition, which saw six teams- India, Iran, Chinese Taipei, Japan and host Korea- provided an entertaining tournament for the viewers and a must-important time on the mat as Asian Games are just a few months away.

India came into the Asian Kabaddi Championships as the favourites. However, the defending champions had a tough battle to face against the arch-rivals Iran. Over the years, Iran has grown into one of the biggest powerhouses in kabaddi. In fact, they are more like an arch-rival for India due to their brief history and how they managed to defeat India in the 2018 Asian Games.

In the 2018 Asian Games, Iran stunned India to clinch the gold medal. Since then, India has been waiting for their perfect revenge over Iran and when these two met in the final of the Asian Kabaddi Championships, India had their revenge. However, a lot went into the training and preparation this year for the country to get there.

The preparation for the 11th Asian Kabaddi Championships began in May. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India announced a 40-member training camp in Patna in May. Later, after the end of the camp, a selection trial for the Championships took place at the Patliputra Sports Complex on 17th May 2023. From 40 members, the Kabaddi Federation selected 12 players and two substitutes for the Championships.

The team also announced the coaching team of the Championships. Ashan Kumar, who created a revolution with Tamil Thalaivas in the 9th Pro Kabaddi League, was named the head coach along with Sanjeev Kumar and Manager Bhaskaran Edachery.

The team entered the camp at the start of June, and they were in the camp until 21st June 2023. The coaching camp took place at SAI Center Bengaluru.

Ashan Kumar, the Indian coach, planned the team in such a way that they will not depend on a single player. Therefore, when Naveen Kumar twisted his ankle, the management decided to bench him. Though it was just a small niggle, the team wanted him to get fit before Asian Games.

During the team selection, the management had to take some tough decisions. Something that raised eyebrows was the dropping of the team's seasoned campaigners like Pardeep Narwal, Deepak Niwas Hooda, and Surender Nada amongst others. The decision did shock several fans and former players but at that time, Ashan Kumar said that he would take the players purely based on merit and team balance.

Also, Pawan Sehrawat, who missed out on the PKL 9 after picking up an ACL injury, came good for the team at the right time. The 26-year-old recovered fully only before the selection trials.

What's next for Indian Kabaddi Team?
After lifting the title, the Indian Kabaddi team will not have a lot of time as the team will get back to the camp immediately for the Asian Games.

Sports Authority of India has already approved the camp, and the 24-member team will sweat it out at the SAI centre in Bengaluru. Notably, the senior campaigners, who didn't make the cut for the Asian Kabaddi Championships are also a part of the camp. It will be interesting to see if anyone gets back to the national Kabaddi team for the Asian Games.