Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship 2025 preview: India eye dominance

The 2025 Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship will kick off on Tuesday in Tehran, Iran.

The prestigious continental competition will be held from 4-9 March.

A total of seven teams, including defending champions India, Malaysia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, and hosts Iran, will be contending for the title.

This is the sixth edition of the tournament. The event is taking place for the first time since 2017.

Defending champions India start as favorite

The Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 gold medallist, India, will start as clear favorites.

India has won the title on four of six occasions, including the last edition in 2017. The defending champions will be keen to extend their supremacy when the tournament gets underway.

Raider Sonali Shingate will lead the Indian challenge, and all-rounder Pushpa Rana from Himachal Pradesh will be her deputy.

The 12-member team has a mix of seven raiders, four specialist defenders, and an all-rounder. The big names include Pooja Kajila, Pooja Narwal, Jyoti Thakur, Sakshi Sharma, and Nidhi Sharma, among others.

Chinese Taipei, considered a tough competition to India, will not be a part of the tournament. At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Chinese Taipei impressed with their performance, defeating Iran and tying a match with India. They settled for a silver after losing to India by just 1 point.

Significance

The championship will serve as a platform ahead of the Women's Kabaddi World Cup, set to take place in Bihar later this year. This will serve as a preparatory ground for the participating teams to fine-tune their skills.

Indian squad

Raiders: Sonali Shingate (Captain), Pooja Kajila, Pooja Narwal, Nidhi Sharma, Amrapali Galande, Neha Daksh, and Sanju Devi.

Defenders: Jyoti Thakur (Right Corner), Sakshi Sharma, Bhavna Devi, Ritu

All-rounder: Pushpa Rana (Vice-captain).

The 2025 Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship will start on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. The finals will be played on March 9.