Seven-time winners India began their quest to regain the Men’s team Kabaddi title at the Asian Games hammering Bangladesh 55-18 at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China on Tuesday.
India dominated the proceedings from the start and inflicted four all-outs on Bangladesh.
Seasoned raider Naveen Kumar scored a super raid early to set the tone for his in the first half. Arjun Deshwal also cashed in with quick points as India inflicted an all-out on Bangladesh within five minutes to lead 11-1.
While the Indian defense proved too strong, the Bangladesh defence settled down after the first few minutes and made the Indian raiders work hard for points.
Bangladesh got the captain Pawan Sehrawat and Naveen Kumar out with super tackles to stay in the game. However, they were unable to go on the offensive, lacking both successful raids and bonus points, allowing the former champions to increase by 15 points at 24-9 at halftime.
India upped the ante in the second half of the match as they brought in Sachin Tanwar and Akash Shinde and inflicted three all outs in the second half to further increase the gap between the two sides.
For Bangladesh, though captain Mohammad Tuhin Tarafder and Sha Mohammed Shahan looked impressive, Sachin produced a series of successful raids, including a super raid to take the scoreline to 33-10.
Bangladesh managed to earn points through an occasional tackle. However, it proved insufficient against a well-balanced India that looked consistent throughout the match.
India will play Thailand in their second match on Wednesday and take on Chinese Taipei in their final group match on Thursday.
The top two teams from the group will qualify for the semi-finals on Friday.
