Nagoya, Japan, September 22, 2026: Iran’s women’s kabaddi team arrived in Nagoya for the Asian Games having taken an unconventional route, turning to India for valuable match practice and exposure.
Fielding a largely new squad, Iran’s preparations were severely disrupted by the war with training time lost. To try and make ground, the Iranian women touched down in Sonipat, Haryana, for a six-day camp prior to arriving in Nagoya.
Iran has been among the strongest women’s kabaddi teams in Asia, winning medals at each of the last four Asian Games. Their record includes bronze in Guangzhou in 2010, silver in Incheon in 2014, gold in Jakarta in 2018 and another bronze at Hangzhou 2022.
The squad in Nagoya, however, will be considerably different from the team that competed in Hangzhou.
Head coach Gholamreza Mazandarani said the team had undergone a major transition, with more than 80 per cent of the squad changing since the last Asian Games. The Sonipat camp gave the younger players an opportunity to gain experience against quality opposition while also allowing the coaching staff to work on tactics.
Mazandarani believes the six-day training stint has been particularly useful because the team can improve its game through regular practice matches rather than relying solely on training sessions.
The choice of India for the camp was significant because of the country’s enormous kabaddi-playing base and the number of competitive opportunities available to its athletes. Iran has around 3,000 to 4,000 male and female kabaddi players.
Having learned from the best, the Iranian women will hope they can put it all into practice when they come up against India in a Group A encounter on Wednesday, September 23.
Group A comprises India, Iran, Bangladesh and Japan. Group B is made up of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Nepal. After round-robin matches, the top two teams advance to the semi-finals.
The Iranian women, featured by the organising committee on the front page of their daily newsletter on Tuesday, September 22, will be aiming for that, and more.