The Indian men’s kabaddi team continued its perfect start at the Asian Games 2026 with a commanding 63-31 victory over the Republic of Korea at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium in Aichi on Tuesday.
For South Korean captain Lee Jang-kun, however, there was plenty that was familiar about the opposition.
The veteran raider has played more than 100 matches in Pro Kabaddi and spent years competing alongside and against Indian players.
That familiarity offered some insight into the reigning Asian Games kabaddi, but Lee admitted India’s changing squad also presented a different challenge.
“It was difficult because India have changed to a younger team with new players, and it was our first time facing many of them,” Lee Jang-kun said after the match.
“I had to think a lot about how to approach the match. But I have met many of the players in the Pro Kabaddi League and know them quite well, so that made things a little easier.”
Any familiarity Lee Jang-kun possessed, though, did little to slow India down.
Captain Sunil Kumar’s side took control early and raced to a 34-14 advantage by half-time, effectively putting the contest beyond South Korea before the interval.
India’s raiders repeatedly found their way through the Korean defence, accounting for 23 out points in the opening half alone. They also collected seven bonus points and inflicted two all outs.
At the other end, the Indian defence restricted South Korea to just 10 touch points before the break.
There was little change in the pattern after the restart.
South Korea offered greater resistance and scored 17 points in the second half, but never threatened to significantly reduce India’s advantage.
India added another 29 points, inflicted their third all out of the contest and finished with 17 bonus points.
The Indian raiding unit accounted for 38 out points across the match compared to South Korea’s 23 as the defending champions completed a 32-point victory.
The result maintained India’s unbeaten start to their title defence following their 49-24 victory over hosts Japan in Monday’s Group A opener.
