Captains named for all 10 men's kabaddi teams at Asian Games 2026

Khel Now published a list on 2026-09-18 naming the captains for all ten men's kabaddi teams set to compete in the Kabaddi event at the Asian Games 2026.

Kabaddi returns to the Asian Games field with the Indian side aiming to defend their gold medal, according to the Khel Now report; the sport first appeared at the Games in 1982 and was later held as an event in 1990. The article notes India’s historical dominance with eight gold medals and one bronze, while Iran has claimed one gold and three silver medals. Khel Now also describes the sport as growing across the continent and says the men’s tournament will feature 10 nations.

The Indian team is led by newly appointed captain Sunil Kumar, who replaced Pawan Sehrawat. Iran, which won the 2018 Asian Games gold medal, retains Fazel Atrachali as captain, and South Korea — the silver medallist in that edition — will be captained by Jang Kun Lee.

Pakistan’s captain is Mudassir Shah, Thailand’s skipper is Thanongsak Srihera, Bangladesh will be led by Mijanur Rahman, and Nepal’s captain is Ghanshayam Magar. These appointments complete the quartet of South and South-East Asian leaders listed by Khel Now.

Malaysia’s captain is D. Vijayankumaran, Japan’s captain is Abe Tetsuro, and Chinese Taipei will be led by Tsai Chang Hao, rounding out the ten named captains in the Khel Now piece.

Khel Now states that India and Iran emerge as the top contenders for the gold medal based on their historical results and says their squads "look the most balanced." The report adds that nations such as Chinese Taipei and South Korea "can also pose a challenge to these two big teams and create an upset."

All ten captains will lead their respective nations on the big stage at the Asian Games 2026, with each team aiming to win medals in the men’s kabaddi competition.