India’s women’s kabaddi team bagged gold at the Asian Beach Games 2026 in Sanya. On Monday, April 27, the women’s team secured a dominant win in the finals, going against Sri Lanka after defeating them by 47-31. The team successfully defended their title and extended their unbeaten run to six.
The six-member squad was led by Ritu. They got a 20-18 lead during half-time but they pulled away decisively in the second half. Earlier in the semifinals, India advanced to the finals after securing a commanding 50-31 win over Bangladesh. Besides Captain Ritu, the squad also featured players like Manisha Kumari, Simran Kamboj, Manpreet Kaur, Nikita and Nikita Chauhan.
India was grouped with Sri Lanka and Syria in Group A for the women’s tournament. Meanwhile, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand and Chinese Taipei were placed in Group B. The top two teams from each group qualified for the semi-finals. India had defeated Sri Lanka by 44-32 and Syria by 64-22 to secure their place in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, India’s men’s team fell short against Iran in the finals. The team finished with silver after suffering a loss to the Islamic Republic of Iran in the finals by 31-44. Led by Brijendra Singh Choudhary, the Indian team first trailed by 23-11 at the break but were unable to recover to secure the gold medal.
In the semi-finals, the men’s team secured a convincing victory over Pakistan by 50-27. The squad had players like Jitendra Yadav, Yatharth Deshwal, Neeraj, Jai Bhagwan and Bhanu Pratap Tomar.
India had a 31-member contingent at the Asian Beach Games participating across four different disciplines, including 3×3 basketball, beach kabaddi, sailing and beach wrestling. Kabaddi marked India’s first podium finish of this year. The event was organised by the Olympic Council of Asia. The 2026 Asian Beach Games was held after its last edition, conducted in 2016 in Da Nang, Vietnam.
