Asian Games: Indian women's kabaddi team beats Japan 50-25 for third straight win

The Indian women's kabaddi team defeated Japan 50-25 at the 2026 Asian Games being held in Japan. The win gave the team its third consecutive victory in Group A. The Indian team has already qualified for the semifinals.

Led by captain Pushpa Rana, the Indian team put Japan under pressure from the start of the match, giving the Japanese team no chance to make a comeback. On the back of aggressive raiding and strong defence, the Indian players built a 32-13 lead by half-time. India put up a dominant first half, inflicting two all-outs on Japan and taking complete control of the match.

India did not let up in the second half either. The raiders kept picking up points steadily, while the defenders gave Japan's raiders few opportunities to score. With a strong showing in both raiding and defence, India secured a commanding win by a margin of 25 points.

After the women's team, the Indian men's kabaddi team also kept up its winning run. In their final Group A league match on Thursday, India beat Chinese Taipei 37-21. The win kept the Indian men's team unbeaten through the group stage. The men's team had already sealed a semifinal spot by beating Bangladesh on Wednesday, and plays its semifinal today.

Separately, the Indian women's hockey team beat Japan 3-1 to record its fourth consecutive win at the 2026 Asian Games. The win took India to the top of Pool B and confirmed its place in the semifinals. India had earlier beaten all its opponents by big margins, scoring freely. In this match, Lalremsiami, Ishika and Navneet scored for India, while Shiho Kobayakawa scored Japan's lone goal.