India continued their dominant run in the Asian Games 2026 men’s kabaddi competition, defeating South Korea 63-31 in their second Group A fixture on Tuesday.
The defending champions produced a strong first-half performance to take a 34-14 lead into the break. India inflicted two all-outs on South Korea in the opening half, with the second coming just before half-time.
India maintained their control after the break to complete a 32-point victory and register their second consecutive win in the group.
India had opened their campaign with a 49-24 victory over Japan on Monday. Japan offered greater resistance after the break and scored more than 20 points in the second half, but India remained in control to secure a comfortable win.
India will next face Bangladesh in their Group A fixture at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium.
Meanwhile, Indian shooters Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Rakesh Mane qualified for the gold medal final in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event after finishing second in qualification.
China topped the qualification with a score of 638.9, setting a new world record and improving on the previous mark of 636.9.
India made a strong start, reaching 211.9 after 20 shots, and maintained their position through the remainder of the qualification round to finish with 634.9, also surpassing the existing Asian record.
China completed its qualification ahead of the other teams and posted the record score of 638.9. Sheng Lihao, who had also competed in the men’s 10m air rifle qualification on Monday, helped China complete its series of shots early.
South Korea and Iran were still completing their shots when China and India finished their qualification, with the final standings to be confirmed after all teams completed their rounds.
The final format has been changed this year. Instead of separate gold and bronze medal matches, all four qualified teams will compete simultaneously, following a format similar to the individual events, with periodic eliminations.
In soft tennis, Jay Meena defeated Pakistan’s Hussain Arain 4-0 in the men’s singles Group D, while Aadhya Tiwari lost 1-4 to Thailand’s Alisha Ziegler in the women’s singles Group D.
In wushu, Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam finished ninth in the women’s Nanquan final.
(ANI Inputs)
