The Indian men's kabaddi team for the 2023 Asian Games will be almost the same as the one that won the Asian Kabaddi Championships in June, barring one change: Akash Shinde coming in for Mohit Goyat. The one major surprise in the 12-man squad is Pardeep Narwal's exclusion.
The team, along with the women's, was announced on Friday via a letter issued by the Sports Ministry detailing the final list of athletes who would represent India at the Asian Games.
The squad, coached by Ashan Kumar, has six defenders and as many raiders. The defence will be marshalled by veteran Surjeet Singh, while the raiding department will be spearheaded by Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who is likely to captain the team.
Meanwhile, Pardeep has been the Pro Kabaddi League's (PKL) most successful raider of all time, but he hasn't been at his best for the last couple of years. He made a comeback in the second half of PKL9 to finish with 220 points [sixth best], but that was his second-lowest tally in five seasons.
The Indian team has been training in Bengaluru since their Asian Kabaddi Championships triumph. India will face stiff competition from their arch-rivals Iran, who stunned them for the Asian Games gold medal in 2018. It was the first time the Indian men's kabaddi team had ever lost the Asian Games title.
They had dominated world kabaddi for 28 years until 2018, winning gold in every edition of the Asian Games since 1990 and in the four editions of the Kabaddi World Cup.
Iran coach Gholamreza Mazandarani, in a recent chat with ESPN, said his side is hungry to retain their gold. "The Asian Games gold medal is very important for us, as it is for India. We are coming with a stronger team than the one they fielded at the Asian Championships for the Asian Games, and the matches will be tough. The Indian team has big names and star players, but we also have some experienced players. We want to fight for gold; we will not be going only for the silver medal," he said.
The Indian women's kabaddi team will also look to wrestle back the gold they lost to Iran in 2018. The Indian women had won each edition since women's kabaddi was introduced at the Asian Games in 2010, but finished with silver last time around.
Indian men's kabaddi team for Asian Games: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Nitesh Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Sunil Kumar, Nitin Rawal, Surjeet Singh, Vishal Bharadwaj, Sachin Tanwar, Arjun Deshwal, Aslam Inamdar, Akash Shinde and Naveen Kumar Goyat.
Indian women's kabaddi team for Asian Games: Akshima, Jyoti, Pooja, Pooja, Priyanka, Pushpa, Sakshi Kumari, Ritu Negi, Nishi Sharma, Sushma Sharma, Snehal Shinde and Sonali Shingate.