Raid, Tackle, Glory: Indian Women Rule the World Again
Dhaka: The raiders flew, the defenders pounced, and the entire nation roared as the Indian women’s kabaddi team wrote another golden chapter in Dhaka tonight. In a heart-pounding final that will be replayed in village akharas for decades, captain Ritu Negi’s Indian women’s kabaddi team defended the Women’s Kabaddi World Cup in sensational style, overpowering Chinese Taipei 35-28 under the roaring roof of Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium. This is India’s second straight World Cup crown and a perfect 2-out-of-2 record in the new-format tournament. It is also the latest jewel in a crown that already sparkles with three Asian Games golds, four Asian Championship titles, and five World Cups in the old format.
From the opening whistle, it was vintage India. The mat belonged to the women in blue. Sanju Devi, the pocket-rocket raider from Haryana, danced through defenders as if they were statues, collecting points with a smile and walking away with the Player of the Final award. Vice-captain Pushpa Rana turned into an immovable mountain, her lightning ankle holds, and thigh grips sending opponents crashing in heaps. Five daughters of Himachal Pradesh formed the unbreakable spine of a defence that simply refused to blink, even when Chinese Taipei clawed the gap down to three points with eight minutes left.
At half-time, India led comfortably, but Chinese Taipei staged a fiery comeback, narrowing the gap to just three points with eight minutes left. That’s when the real magic happened. Ritu Negi called her team into a huddle, screamed, “Bas abhi toh shuru hua hai!” (The real game starts now!), and unleashed a super raid that sucked the air out of the opposition. Game over. Gold sealed. Tears, hugs, tricolour waves – pure sporting poetry.
The stadium erupted, the tricolour soared, and India’s second successive World Cup crown was sealed in a storm of tears, hugs and deafening roars.
The road to the title had been ruthless. India demolished Germany 63-22, crushed Poland 50-18, and brushed aside every challenger in Group A. In the semi-final, they ended Iran’s dreams 33-21 – sweet revenge for the 2018 Asian Games final – before producing a masterclass in the summit clash. Eleven nations came to Dhaka; only one left wearing gold.
This latest triumph is merely the newest jewel in a crown that already dazzles the sporting world. Since women’s kabaddi entered the Asian Games in Guangzhou 2010, India has stood on the top step three times (2010, 2014 and Hangzhou 2023, where Pooja Hathwala’s super raid snatched a one-point thriller from the same Chinese Taipei). Only a heartbreaking 27-24 defeat to Iran in Jakarta 2018 has ever denied them continental gold. The Asian Kabaddi Championship shelf groans under five titles (2005, 2007, 2008, 2017 and a commanding 32-25 win over Iran in Tehran just six months ago). Four South Asian Games golds and even a beach kabaddi crown in Phuket 2014 complete a resume that reads like a dream.
As the final whistle blew, players sank to the mat in exhaustion and joy. Coaches hoisted Ritu Negi sky-high while the Dhaka crowd – thousands waving Indian flags in the heart of Bangladesh – chanted “India! India!” until their voices cracked.
Back home, the country lit up.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted within minutes: “Congratulations to our Indian Women’s Kabaddi Team for making the nation proud by winning the Kabaddi World Cup 2025! They have showcased outstanding grit, skills and dedication. Their victory will inspire countless youngsters to pursue Kabaddi, dream bigger and aim higher.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote: “Moment of immense pride as our women’s kabaddi team scripts history. Your stupendous victory reiterates why India’s sporting talent is second to none.”
From the dusty grounds of rural Haryana to the floodlit academies of Tamil Nadu, little girls stayed up past bedtime, eyes shining, already practising their first raid in the dark. Another generation just found its heroes.
The message to the world is simple and deafening: when it comes to women’s kabaddi, India remains the undisputed queen – and the throne shows no sign of changing hands anytime soon.
– global bihari bureau
