India Beats Japan 49-24 at 2026 Asian Games Kabaddi

At the 2026 Asian Games, the Indian kabaddi team defeated Japan by a 49-24 margin. Team India had a 31-9 lead in the first half. The second half saw the Indian team lose by a huge margin of 25 points. This is India's eighth overall victory over Japan in the Asian Games. Japan has never beaten India in the Asian Games. Aslan Inamdar, Ashu Malik, and Ayan Lochab gave strong performances. Ayan Lochab was making his Asian Games debut, he started penetrating the Japanese defense with tremendous raiding as soon as he arrived. Devank Dalal, also playing in the Asian Games for the first time, forced the Japanese team to go on the backfoot. India also had a strong lead in the first half. India scored more points in the second half, where it scored 18 points. Compared to Japan in the first half, Pawan Sehrawat did not perform as well in the second half.