Mirpur: India retained the title of the 2nd Women's Kabaddi World Cup with a challenging 35-28 points victory over Chinese Taipei in a thrilling final held at Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, India had previously secured the inaugural Women's Kabaddi World Cup in 2012 by defeating Iran. This latest win underscores India's dominance in the sport, maintaining an all-win record in this edition, mirroring their performance in the 2012 inaugural event.
With this victory, India has now remained unbeaten against Chinese Taipei for three consecutive matches in major kabaddi tournaments. Notably, on October 7, 2023, India edged out Chinese Taipei 26-25 in an intense Asian Games final, securing the gold medal. In their group-stage encounter during the same event, the teams had a tight 34-34 draw.
Before the final match began, Md Mahbub-ul-Alam, Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, provided the toss coin, which Chinese Taipei won, sending India to raid first. Sanju Devi opened the scoring for India, followed by a responsive bonus point from Chuang Ya-Han. Pooja Nawal and Sonali Shingate contributed points from their raids as the match unfolded.
Sanju Devi displayed exceptional skill in the fourth raid, earning three points to put India ahead. Yen Chiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei quickly leveled the score at 7-7 with a two-point raid. A super tackle by Chinese Taipei on Pooja Nawal allowed them to take a brief 9-7 lead.
In the 12th minute, Sanju Devi dismissed four Chinese Taipei players in a single raid, pushing India into the lead at 13-12. This was countered by Huang Su-chin's score, keeping Chinese Taipei competitive. However, Sanju soon added two more points and inflicted an all-out on the opponents, extending India's lead to 17-14, concluding the first half at 20-16.
Post-break, Chinese Taipei reduced the margin with a bonus point, but Pushpa Rana's three-point raid widened India's lead again. As the match progressed, Chinese Taipei struggled to keep pace, although they managed to bring the score to 25-22 at one stage. However, India's strategic play, led by Sanju and Pushpa, turned the match decisively in their favor.
With four minutes remaining, Chinese Taipei executed a super tackle, narrowing the gap to 30-26. However, India's subsequent control, culminating in another all-out, secured a final score of 35-28.
In celebration of their second successive Women's Kabaddi World Cup title, the Indian team took a victory lap around the venue, proudly displaying the national flag and sharing the joy through dance and revelry.