5 instances when India lost a Kabaddi match

The Indian Kabaddi team is known for its sheer dominance in the sport of Kabaddi. Having produced world-class players, the Indian team has clinched victories in several global events, so much so that there is a belief that there is no competition for India in the sport of Kabaddi.

Teams such as Iran and South Korea have shown competency by leaps and bounds over the years. The exposure due to the Pro Kabaddi League has motivated them to adapt the game with enthusiasm, and they have certainly handed a tough challenge to the current Indian side.

Kabaddi is a sport where India's certainty of victories doesn't surprise much, but a loss does surprise the Kabaddi fans. However, it is a good sign that many nations are showing their interest in the game as the sport has produced some quality talent over the past few years.

On that note, let's take a look at five occasions when the Indian Kabaddi team has lost a match in the past.

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#1 India v Pakistan (1993 SAF Games, Dhaka)

India have lost one game against Pakistan (Representative image)

India's first-ever loss in Kabaddi was against Pakistan back in the final of 1993 South Asian Federation Games, a tournament in which the team had to settle with the silver medal. The likes of Kashinatha Bhaskaran, Tirtha Raj, and Ashan Kumar were a part of the team that suffered the historic defeat two decades ago.

Pakistan was India's toughest challenge back in the late 90s, due to their adaptability in the soil-based Kabaddi. The game based on strength in those days had minimal exposure, with just two nations dominating the sport in international events.

There was no Kabaddi tournament in the 1991 South Asian Games. Apart from the only loss in the sixth edition held in Dhaka, India have never lost a game in the history of South Asian Games and they are the most successful team in the South Asian Games, having bagged gold medals on nine occasions.

#2 India v South Korea (Kabaddi World Cup 2016, Ahmedabad)

India lost the opening match of KWC 2016.

The opening match of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup started with an upset when South Korea defeated India to begin their campaign on a high. This was India's first-ever loss in a Kabaddi World Cup event, having walked into their opening match with the favourites tag.

The Koreans received an early All Out courtesy of some brilliant defending from Manjeet Chhillar and Surjeet Singh, as the half-time score read 18-13 in India's favour. The likes of Anup Kumar, Ajay Thakur, and Rahul Chaudhari were steadily scoring points for India on the raiding front.

Jang Kun Lee started scoring points and some brilliant super tackles from Young Chang Ko helped their side level scores. A two-pointer raid from Jang Kun Lee in the final few moments of the game eked out a thrilling 34-32 win for South Korea. This match was perhaps a wake-up call as India went on to win all of their remaining fixtures and clinch their third Kabaddi World Cup.

#3 India v South Korea (Asian Games 2018, Jakarta)

India lost to South Korea in the Asian Games 2018

In the 28 year-long history of Asiad, India succumbed to their first-ever loss when they met South Korea in the Group A match of the 2018 Asian Games. It was similar to the defeat in the Kabaddi World Cup 2016, where India led with the momentum in most of the match before falling short in the final minutes.

Jang Kun Lee and Dong Geon Lee led the raiding charges against India's imbalanced defence. India were forced to play with just one defender in the second half, in addition to which the raiders looked sluggish against the Korean defence. The likes of Pardeep Narwal and Ajay Thakur got silenced, courtesy of pin-point defending from Young Chang Ko and others.

South Korea emerged victorious against India (24-23) in the group-stages that forced India to finish on 2nd spot in the Pool A points table. As a result of their 2nd place finish, India faced off against Iran in the semifinals and fell to a shock loss from that game as well.

#4 India v Iran (Asian Games 2018, Jakarta)

India had to settle with bronze after a defeat against Iran in the semi-finals.

One of the biggest upsets was India's ouster from the Asian Games 2018, when Iran dethroned India in the semi-final, forcing India to settle with the bronze medal in the 28-year history of Asiad. It was perhaps the most heartbreaking scene for the Indian Kabaddi team, as the defeat was certainly unexpected.

Led by Fazel Atrachali, the Iranians had the stronghold right from the start of the match. India, on the other hand, looked less confident in the outing with their offence having no answers against the Iranian defence. All-rounder Mohammad Maghsoudlu wreaked havoc with a High 5, and also raided superbly against an unsettled Indian defence.

This shocking defeat brought a lot of criticism from the fans regarding the selection of players for the event. While it was a problem of plenty in the raiding department, the defenders failed to put on a good show as players were forced to play in the positions they hadn't played before.

Iran defeated India with the scoreline reading 27-18 as they went on to capture their maiden gold medal in the Asian Games event by defeating South Korea in the Final.

#5 Indian 7 v World 7 (Pro Kabaddi All-Stars Match, Hyderabad)

The World 7's defence scripted a comeback against Indian 7.

The Pro Kabaddi All-Stars match was an exhibition match, before the commencement of the seventh season of PKL. This was a friendly match organized ahead of the PKL to give a preview of the revamped Indian side squaring off against some of the best players from the world.

Pawan Sehrawat was named in the Indian 7 side, and he impressed in his initial outing with a Super-10 against the lethal defensive unit of World 7. However, his solo efforts went in vain courtesy of rock-solid defending from Fazel Atrachali and top raiding Jang Kun Lee, who starred in the comeback after half-time.

Mohammad Nabibakhsh set the tone with his all-round performance that took down the Indian defence led by Nitesh Kumar and Girish Ernak. He scored consistently, inflicting an All Out against the Indian 7 in the 39th minute of the match to win by a close margin (32-33) in the end.