India retained the Women's Kabaddi World Cup crown with a 35-28 points victory over Chinese Taipei in a thrilling final at the Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium on Monday.
India had won the inaugural Women's Kabaddi World Cup in 2012 by defeating Iran. With Monday's hard-fought win, the global kabaddi powerhouse kept that legacy intact. India also maintained their 100 percent winning record in this edition – winning all six matches in Dhaka, just as they had done in the 2012 edition.
India have now remained unbeaten against Chinese Taipei for three consecutive matches in major kabaddi tournaments. On October 7, 2023, they edged Chinese Taipei 26-25 in a nerve-shredding Asian Games final to clinch the gold medal. The group-stage meeting between the two sides in that same event had also been intense, ending in a 34-34 draw.
Before the final, Md Mahbub-ul-Alam, Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, supplied the toss coin. Chinese Taipei won the toss and sent India to raid.
Sanju Devi earned the first point of the match with her opening raid. Chuang Ya-Han responded well with a bonus point. Pooja Nawal and Sonali Shingate then picked up points from their raids. In the fourth raid, Sanju secured three points, giving India the lead. Yen Chiao-Wen earned two points in a single raid to level the contest at 7-7.
Chinese Taipei then took a 9-7 lead by executing a super tackle on Pooja, who had gone in to raid. In the 12th minute, Sanju dismissed four Chinese Taipei players in a single raid to push India ahead 13-12. Huang Su-chin scored in the next raid to keep Chinese Taipei in the contest.
Later in the same minute, Sanju earned two more points and inflicted an all-out on the opponents, extending India's lead to 17-14. India ended the first half with a 20-16 lead.
After the break, Chinese Taipei reduced the margin with a bonus point. Pushpa Rana widened India's lead with a three-point raid. Gradually, Chinese Taipei began to fall behind. At one stage, they reduced the deficit to 25-22 through points in both raids and tackles. But with India playing calculated kabaddi through Sanju and Pushpa, the match tilted firmly in India's favour.
With four minutes remaining, Chinese Taipei executed a super tackle in a final attempt to come back, bringing the score to 30-26. Near the end, India took control by inflicting another all-out on Chinese Taipei, pushing the score to 35-28 – which stood as the final scoreline.
After the win, the Indian players took a victory lap around the venue, carrying the national flag. They celebrated their second consecutive Women's Kabaddi World Cup title with dance and jubilation.