India's kabaddi teams will battle it out for the all-important Asian Games gold medal on Saturday as the men take on Iran while the women face Chinese Taipei.
They will be the favourites after a dominant performance in the final. The men's team beat Pakistan 61-14, while the women's team beat Nepal 61-17 to book their spot in the final.
Here's a look at what's in store for both teams:
Pawan Sehrawat's Indian men's kabaddi team
Expectedly, the men stormed through the group stages undefeated. They had to play four games in Group A, while Iran only played three, and even played two games on Thursday. But as one of the players said, "We barely broke a sweat, so it was not difficult to recover."
On Friday, they made lightwork of Pakistan to set up the final with defending champions Iran. Iran, known for their watertight defence, brushed aside Chinese Taipei 47-24 to extend their unbeaten run.
India's Results
• Beat Bangladesh 55-18
• Beat Thailand 63-26
• Beat Chinese Taipei 50-27
• Beat Japan 56-30
• Beat Pakistan
The final could play out to be a close one as players from both countries compete together in the Pro Kabaddi League and are well-versed in each other's game styles.
Iran captain Fazel Atrachali and Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh played for Puneri Paltan along with India's Aslam Inamdar and Akash Shinde, while Mohammadreza Shadlou was with Sachin Tanwar at Puneri Paltan. Reza Mirbagheri played for PKL champions Jaipur Pink Panthers alongside Arjun Deshwal, Nitin Rawal and Sunil Kumar.
It promises to be a proper contest between India's attack and Iran's defence. Pawan vs Fazel. Aslam vs Nabibakhsh. Arjun vs Reza. The storylines are set.
Who will India need to watch out for?
A well-known face: Shadlou. The Iranian nearly took the game away from India when the two countries last played in the final of the 2023 Asian Kabaddi Championships.
Considering the captain, Fazel, will play on the left corner, Shadlou is likely to be given a free hand to raid. He has pockets full of tricks, is a strong raider and knows the Indian defence very, very well.
Ritu Negi's Indian women's kabaddi team
The Indian women's kabaddi team will face a familiar opponent in Saturday's final: not Iran, but Chinese Taipei. Yes, you read that right, the defending champions have been knocked out.
Chinese Taipei produced one of the biggest upsets in world kabaddi, perhaps the biggest since Iran beat India at the 2018 Asian Games final, to stun Iran 35-24.
What makes matters tricky for the Indians is that even they could not get a win when they clashed in the group stage. Chinese Taipei put up a refreshing performance to push India to the limit before the sides shared the spoils.
India's Results
• 34-34 tie vs Chinese Taipei
• Beat South Korea 56-23
• Beat Thailand 54-22
• Beat Nepal 61-17
The Indian women's team will largely bank on their ace raider Pooja Hathwala. She has a lightning-quick feet, great reach and superb escaping abilities. Then there's also Pushpa Rana, a brilliant all-rounder. She plays as a left cover traditionally but is also a fantastic raider.
Who will they need to watch out for?
Chinese Taipei's best player has been their #8, Hsiu-Chen Feng. The tall and lanky raider got the better of India's defenders many a time and scored points at will.
What makes her so good is that like Pooja, she too is supremely quick on the mat and has excellent reach. She scored a majority of bonus points on the left and India's Sakshi Kumari, who plays as the left corner, will need to be on top of her game.