Taiwan women's kabaddi team clinches silver after loss to India

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) The Taiwan women's kabaddi team settled for a silver medal after losing to their Indian opponents 35-28 in the World Cup final on Monday.

Played by two teams of seven, kabaddi is a fast-paced contact sport in which players try to tag opponents and return to their side without being tackled. Matches consist of two 20-minute halves with a five-minute break.

Points are awarded for successful tags, while defenders earn a point for tackling the raider. Tagged or tackled players are temporarily out but can re-enter when their team scores.

In Monday's final, Taiwan got off to a strong start, taking a 12-9 lead, but a defensive attempt to tackle an opponent backfired when an Indian player broke free and reached the midline, costing Taiwan four points.

India then seized the momentum, sending Taiwan into halftime trailing 20-16.

Taiwan also took a hit from a referee's decision. Under kabaddi rules, only the defenders who make contact with the raider are supposed to be ruled out if the raider escapes.

Taiwan coach Tsai Wei-yang (蔡威暘) argued that only two Taiwanese players had made contact on the play, but after a video review, the referee ruled that four defenders were involved.

"That decision really hurt our morale," Tsai said.

In the second half, the Taiwanese team tried to mount a comeback, but India's towering lineup -- including four players over 180 centimeters tall -- gradually pulled away in points, handing Taiwan the defeat.

This marked another narrow loss to India for the Taiwan women's kabaddi team, following a one-point defeat at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

"The loss was a bitter one," Tsai said, but he added that despite settling for silver again, the team's defense had improved greatly in this World Cup, unlike at the Hangzhou Asian Games, when victories relied almost entirely on offense.

The coach anticipated that the Asian Games to be held in Nagoya, Japan, next year will likely feature the same group of players.

"After returning to Taiwan, we will do more analysis and research to figure out how to overcome India's lineup," he said.

The 2025 Women's Kabaddi World Cup was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from Nov. 17 to 24. A total of 11 countries took part in the tournament.