Chaos, protests in men’s kabaddi final as India take gold

HANGZHOU: The final of the men’s kabaddi competition at the Asian Games descended into chaos on Saturday as players and coaches protested over a referee decision with the game even on points and with just over a minute to play.

The match was suspended at one point and it was unclear whether it would be concluded, but eventually it was and India went on to beat reigning champions Iran 33-29.

The drama centred on a decision about allocating points for a “raid” by an Indian player into the Iranian half.

With the match on the line, coaches and players from both sides remonstrated immediately with officials, waving their arms angrily.

Officials gathered round a screen to watch the replay of the incident but when they ruled in Iran’s favour, the Indian coaches and players redoubled their protests.

More chaos ensued, with officials walking on and off the court and attempting unsuccessfully to get the Indian coaching staff to accept the decision.

It appeared at one point that the Indian coach and one official might come to blows.

When the Iran players were ready to restart, the Indians sat in their half in protest, and officials returned to the court. A caption on the live feed in the main media centre read “Competition Suspended”.

When it appeared the decision would go India’s way, the Indian players stood up and the Iran side sat down.

A game with two 20-minute halves which started at 3 p.m. local time (0700 GMT) took until around 5:15 p.m. to restart with India in front.

India made sure of the win in the last minute, sparking wild celebrations by their players on the court.

Both teams claimed the other had unduly influenced, or attempted to influence, the officials.

“(There was) some problem on the refereeing side because they made some mistakes, some bad decisions,” said Iran coach Gholamreza Mazandarani.

“India – all team, all coaches and all managers – all (put) pressure on the referees and they changed (their decision).

“This wrong decision changed everything and now they are champions.”

India coach Edachery Bhaskaran said he was happy and proud for his team but said the dispute was “not good for kabaddi.”

“There are rules in kabaddi, we have proper rules, but they want to manipulate that rule in front of all public.”

India won the women’s kabaddi final earlier on Saturday to take gold, improving on their silver at the 2018 Games.

Kabaddi is akin to a cross between tag and rugby, played on a court the length of badminton court but slightly wider, usually in a seven-against-seven player format.

The aim is for a “raider” from the attacking team to run into their opposing team’s half, tag as many players as possible and then run back without being tackled.

Other controversies involving officiating at the Hangzhou Games included the final of the men’s javelin, when officials failed to record a “good” first throw by India’s eventual champion Neeraj Chopra.

In the women’s 100 metres hurdles final on Sunday, China’s Wu Yanni protested a false start she had been charged with, caused a long delay to the race and was then allowed to run anyway. She was later disqualified.