Kabaddi kerfuffle mars India milestone as Yao Ming slams ‘slackers’
Iran’s Amirhossein Bastami (centre right) argues with a referee on a disputed decision in the men’s kabaddi gold medal match against India - AFP
HANGZHOU, China, Oct 7, 2023 (AFP): India surged past 100 medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday but the milestone was overshadowed by their controversial gold in a fractious kabaddi final suspended for an hour.
The curtain comes down on the biggest Asian Games in history, boasting 12,000 athletes, on Sunday after two weeks of competition across 40 sports. Saturday was the most action-packed of the fortnight, with gold medals up for grabs in 24 sports including football, cricket, badminton and hockey.
The men’s football final has the potential to be one of the highlights, with South Korea facing Japan as they pursue a third title in a row. The first medals in Asian Games history are at stake in breakdancing, ahead of making another landmark debut at next year’s Paris Games.
In early action on a grey and soggy day in Hangzhou, India swept up two golds in archery and another in women’s kabaddi. The Indian team have surpassed all expectations back home by breaching the century mark of medals. It bodes well for Paris, which is less than 10 months away.
But what should have been a day of celebration came with a large dollop of controversy. The men’s kabaddi final against Iran descended into chaos and was suspended, before India finally sealed the title.
The final was locked at 28-28 with just over a minute left when India went on a crucial ‘raid’ for points, with both teams claiming they should get the decision.
That sparked a prolonged video review, then a standoff and the suspension of the final, as numerous officials checked the footage and attempted to make a ruling. The action in what was an eagerly anticipated showdown was put on hold as both teams at different points appeared to refuse to play and argued their case.
Order was eventually restored with the score at 31-29 in India’s favour. Iran reluctantly carried on but they were deflated and quickly slumped to a 33-29 defeat, sparking wild Indian celebrations.
But the post-final press conference was cancelled and Iran’s coach Gholamreza Mazandarani said of the controversy: “This is very bad, very bad for kabaddi.”
India also sealed men’s cricket gold in similarly anti-climactic fashion. They were declared winners of the final against Afghanistan under an Asian Games-specific rule where the higher-ranked team takes the honours if the match cannot be finished, in this case due to rain.
India approached the end of the day with 107 medals in total, 28 of those gold. But they will still finish a long way behind China in the overall medals table when the Games wrap up on Sunday. The hosts are well ahead of the rest with 374 medals in total, 196 of them gold.
It was not all good news for China. They won bronze in men’s basketball but it was far less than fans and their legendary eight-time NBA All-Star Yao Ming wanted. Yao, now president of the Chinese Basketball Association, was scathing of their performance having lost to eventual champions the Philippines in the semi-finals.
China also flopped at last month’s World Cup, missing out on a qualifying spot for the Paris Games.
Yao said China found it ‘hard to adjust quickly’ after their World Cup disappointment but warned they would have to face reality.
“There are two types of slacking — one is the indisciplined kind and the other is wanting to eat your opponent in just one bite,” he told Xinhua news agency.
“This is also a type of slacking.”