At a ceremony to celebrate the Indian women’s kabaddi team’s successful return from the 6th Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship in Tehran, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya offered a financial incentive of Rs 67,50,000 for the team. India defended their title by defeating Iran 32–25.
India overcame South Korea to claim the title in the previous edition of the tournament, which was hosted in Iran in 2017 after an eight-year break.
We’ll do everything we can to help our female athletes. To provide women greater chances, we will launch a women’s kabaddi league in tandem with the men’s league. As Viksit Bharat develops, Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi wants our daughters to have equal chances,” Mandaviya stated.
At the Chintan Shivir in Hyderabad, we decided to build academies where athletes receive excellent instruction and to encourage the corporate sector to promote one sport by offering the finest financial assistance. The government would make every effort to guarantee this, even for native sports like kabaddi,” he continued.
India easily moved to the semi-finals after defeating Bangladesh 64-23, Thailand 76-21, and Malaysia 73-19 to top their pool with three victories and an outstanding cumulative score differential of +150. India was placed in Group A together with Thailand, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. The team easily defeated neighborhood rivals Nepal 56–18 in their semi-final match, securing a thrilling final matchup with hosts Iran. With a score of 32–25, Team India won their most difficult performance of the competition. Notably, South Korea won this tournament on its own land in 2016 and is still the only other country to have done so.
Without the leadership of raider and captain Sonali Shingate, this achievement would not have been possible. Shingate also thanked the Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs for the support of the squad.
“This win is dedicated to all of our team members who performed very well to guarantee our return as winners. Our preparation has been greatly aided by the Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs’ assistance. Our success depended heavily on our camp at SAI Sonepat. We are also extremely appreciative of the Supreme Court’s prompt assistance in enabling India to permit our team to train for this event. We are happy that the trust placed in us has allowed us to succeed. We are now anticipating the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup in Bihar in June,” Shingate said with joy.
This triumph demonstrates the increasing power of our female athletes on the global scene and solidifies India’s supremacy in kabaddi. Mr. Jitendra Pran Singh Thakur, the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India’s secretary-elect, stated, “The AKFI is proud of this team’s accomplishments and will continue to support their participation in upcoming multi-nation tournaments conducted by the International Kabaddi Federation and the Asian Kabaddi Federation.”
In preparation for the highly anticipated Women’s Kabaddi World Cup, which will take place in Bihar in June of 2025, he emphasized that the Indian team’s victory at the 2025 Asian Women Kabaddi Championships in Tehran served as an outstanding dress rehearsal for the squad that also took home the gold at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The International Kabaddi Federation’s president, Vinod Tiwary, has also expressed his hopes.
“The IKF-affiliated nations readily recognize India’s significant contribution as kabaddi’s torchbearer. “IKF is extremely appreciative of the Indian Supreme Court and sports authorities for allowing Indian women to compete in the 2025 Asian Women Kabaddi Championships in Tehran,” Tiwary added.
