Pushpa Rana says India’s women’s kabaddi squad aim to defend Asian Games gold as event begins September 21
Captain Pushpa Rana said the Indian Women’s Kabaddi Team are preparing to defend their Asian Games 2026 title, with the Kabaddi competition set to begin on September 21 and Rana and Pooja Kajla describing the expectation to win as motivation rather than pressure.
Rana has been handed the responsibility of leading the 12-member squad and this is her first assignment as captain after previously serving as vice-captain; she said the team’s preparation has focused on opponent analysis and correcting weaknesses identified by coaches. “First of all, we practice according to the situation. We also analyse the videos of the upcoming matches. Our coaches also tell us about the shortcomings of the past and what needs to be improved. And now we are working on that. I think our team is well prepared,” said Rana.
On leadership and match-readiness Rana stressed reliance on senior players for guidance and singled out Chinese Taipei as a side to watch after recalling the narrow 26-25 final at the previous Asian Games. “I rely a lot on the seniors because they are already captains like Ritu Negi and Sonali Shingate. So, their advice is very important to me,” said Rana.
The Indian women’s team enter the Games with a history of success in the sport: India have won 11 Kabaddi gold medals at the Asian Games, including three in the women’s event, and the squad won the World Cup in November last year. The team were the reigning Asian Games champions after edging Chinese Taipei 26-25 in the Hangzhou final.
Arjuna awardee Pooja Kajla said an Asian Games gold would help inspire younger girls to take up sport and credited the team’s strength and conditioning camp, organised jointly by the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) alongside Mashal Sports, for improvements to recovery and performance practices. “First of all, it is very important to win gold at the Asian Games. Along with that, as we talk about the girls of the Cricket World Cup, some juniors are very inspired by the success of Indian women in sport. So, if we bring gold, then small children get inspired by us and they will also ask their parents to let them play,” said Kajla. “They gave us a few more classes on sleep and recovery. So, I got to learn a lot from there,” she said.
India’s women’s Kabaddi schedule at the Asian Games begins with a Group A match against Bangladesh on September 21, followed by fixtures against Iran on September 23 and Japan on September 24, with semi-finals on September 25 and the gold-medal match on September 26.
India will open their Group A campaign against Bangladesh on September 21 in the first match of the Kabaddi competition at the Asian Games 2026.