We want gold, we play to win: Sonali Shingate, on the Asian Kabaddi triumph

The Sonali Shingate-led Indian kabaddi team is in a celebratory mood. The team lifted its fifth Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship on Saturday, defeating Iran 32-25, in a close final in Tehran.

The team has every reason to be overjoyed. After all, it is not every day that a continental triumph is achieved, and when it comes on foreign soil, victory is sweeter.

“We played well as a team. We dominated all our pool matches and the semis. The final (against Iran) was slightly tight. But overall, we had easy wins. Indian defenders and raiders make for a match-winning combination,” an elated Sonali Shingate told The Bridge.

Interestingly, India dominated its opponents in group matches, winning by a margin greater than 30 points. India beat Bangladesh (64-23), Thailand (76-21) and Malaysia (73-19) in pool matches and Nepal (56-18) in the semifinal en route to the final.

Hosts Iran were the only opponent that came close to challenging the Indian squad.

“Against Iran, it was cut-to-cut. At one point, Iran did a super raid. We lost 2 defenders and a raider in that move. We told ourselves to go slow from there. We did not want to get a lona (all out). We went for one point at a time and collected bonus points,” Shingate highlighted.

“In the second half, we had a 6-7 points advantage. We tried to maintain it,” she said.

High-five

Having dominated five of the six editions of the continental championship, the Indian team has gotten used to winning tournaments. They enter tournaments with a winning mindset.

“We have been champions for so long. We don’t want to settle for anything other than a gold medal. We play to win. We have the pressure to live up to our reputation and our competitors are intimidated by us and also play under pressure,” Shingate asserted.

The women’s team has already set their sights on the World Cup, tentatively scheduled for June.

“Focus rahega ki gold ka silsila jari rakhein. (The focus will be on winning the gold medal),” she said.

Meanwhile, the team’s chief coach, Tejaswini Bai, expressed delight at the team’s performance. “The team played well. We are all happy. Iran is a strong team and played well too,” chief coach Tejaswini Bai, who was an active member of the winning team on four occasions, said.

Compulsory Hijab

The Indian women’s team, along with other participating nations, were seen sporting the hijab during the opening ceremony. In Iran, the hijab is a mandatory dress code for all Iranian women.

“The locals told us it was compulsory, so we wore it. The hijab was provided to us by the organizers. It’s in their culture. Every time we stepped out of our hotel rooms, we had to wear it. Overall, there were a lot of restrictions. No phones were allowed in the stadium. We couldn't record videos during matches,” she pointed out.

“On the last day, we took permission and after the match, they allowed us to click pictures,” she said.