The India men's national kabaddi team represents India in international men's kabaddi competitions. The team is by far the most successful national kabaddi side of any country, winning gold medals at the Asian Games in 1990 (the first year the sport was contested), 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022, as well as winning all three Kabaddi World Cup events to date. Pawan Sehrawat is the current captain of the team since 2022. [1]
Kabaddi was contested at the Asian Games as a competitive (non-exhibition) sport for the first time in 1990. India beat Bangladesh in the gold medal match for both the 1990 Asian Games and 1994 Asian Games. India lost to Pakistan in the 1993 South Asian Games gold medal match.[ citation needed ] In the 1998 Asian Games held in Bangkok, the team beat arch rivals Pakistan for the gold medal. [2] [3]
India beat Bangladesh in the gold medal match of the 2002 Asian Games, held in Busan. [4]
India won the inaugural Kabaddi World Cup in 2004, beating Iran by a 55–27 margin. They repeated the feat three years later, beating the Iranians 29–19. [5]
At the 2006 Asian Games, India beat Pakistan 35–23 to win their fifth gold medal at the tournament. [6]
In the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games, India continued to dominate, winning gold on both occasions. [7] [8]
When the Kabaddi World Cup resumed again in 2016 after a nine-year hiatus, India beat Iran for the third final in a row by 38–29. [9]
In 2017, India won the Asian Kabaddi Championship led by raider Ajay Thakur with raider Pardeep Narwal bagging a super 10 beating Pakistan in the final by 36–22. [10]
India won the 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters tournament, beating Iran 44–26 in the final. [11] [12]
At the 2018 Asian Games, India lost to South Korea 23–24 in the group stages – this was the Indian team's first ever loss in their history at the Asian Games. Despite the loss, India qualified for the semi-finals, but lost 27–18 to Iran, who went on to win the gold. [13] [14]
India won the gold at the 2019 South Asian Games led by Deepak Niwas Hooda, beating Sri Lanka in the final by 51–18 with raiders Pawan Sehrawat, Naveen Kumar, Pardeep Narwal . [15] [16]
The Indian team did not play in any tournaments for a long time since December 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, India won the Asian Kabaddi Championship by defeating Iran in the final by 42–32. [17]
World Cup
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| Year | Rank | M | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2004 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 289 | 104 | +185 |
| 2007 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 276 | 115 | +161 |
| 2016 | Champions | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 275 | 150 | +125 |
| 2025 | TBD | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 3/4 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 840 | 369 | +471 |
| Year | Rank | M | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1990 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
 1994 | Champions | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
 1998 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
 2002 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
 2006 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | Champions | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
 2018 | Third place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 9/9 | 45 | 43 | 0 | 2 |
| Asian Kabaddi Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Host country | Position |
| 1980 | India |  1st |
| 1988 | ||
| 2000 |  Sri Lanka | |
| 2001 | Thailand | |
| 2002 |  Malaysia | |
| 2003 | GS | |
| 2005 |  Iran | 1st |
| 2017 | ||
| 2023 | South Korea | |
| South Asian Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Host city | Position |
| 1985 |  Dhaka, Bangladesh | 1st |
| 1987 | Kolkata, India | 1st |
| 1989 |  Islamabad, Pakistan | 1st |
| 1993 | Dhaka, Bangladesh |  2nd |
| 1995 | Madras, India | 1st |
| 1999 |  Kathmandu, Nepal | 1st |
| 2004 | Islamabad, Pakistan | 1st |
| 2006 | Colombo, Sri Lanka | 1st |
| 2010 | Dhaka, Bangladesh | 1st |
| 2016 | Guwahati & Shillong, India | 1st |
| 2019 | Kathmandu, Pokhara & Janakpur, Nepal | 1st |
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2018 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1/1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Champions | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
 2025 | Champions | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 2/2 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| World Beach Kabaddi Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Host country | Position |
| 2024 | Iran | DNP |
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Champions | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
 2010 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Third place | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014 | Third place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 2016 | Runners-up | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 5/5 | 23 | 16 | 2 | 5 |
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Runners-up | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 1/1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2007 | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Participated as  Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) | |||||
| Total | 3/3 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | Champions | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Champions | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Runners-up | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 7/7 | 44 | 43 | 0 | 1 |
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 3/3 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Position | Franchise |
|---|---|---|
| Aslam Inamdar | All-rounder | Puneri Paltan |
| Nitin Rawal | All-rounder | Haryana Steelers |
| Pawan Sehrawat (Captain) | Raider | [[]] |
| Naveen Kumar | Raider | Telugu Titans |
| Arjun Deshwal | Raider | UP Yoddha |
| Pardeep Narwal | Raider | Patna Pirates |
| Akash Shinde | Raider | Puneri Paltan |
| Sunil Kumar | Left-cover (Defender) | Tamil Thalaivas |
| Surjeet Singh Narwal | Right-cover (Defender) | Patna Pirates |
| Nitesh Kumar | Right-corner (Defender) | Jaipur Pink Panthers |
| Divvay Sharma | Left-corner (Defender) | Dabang Delhi K.C. |
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Rambir Singh Khokhar |
| Assistant Coaches | Srinivas Reddy |
| E. Bhaskaran | |
| Team Manager | E. Prasad Rao |
| Stadium | City | State | Capacity | Matches hosted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indira Gandhi Arena | New Delhi | Delhi | 14,000 | Kabaddi World Cup, Pro Kabaddi League, international friendlies | One of the largest indoor arenas in India; key venue for international events |
| Patliputra Sports Complex | Patna | Bihar | 3,500 | Pro Kabaddi League, national tournaments | Regular Pro Kabaddi League venue; hosted several international fixtures |
| Gachibowli Indoor Stadium | Hyderabad | Telangana | 4,000 | Asian Games training, Pro Kabaddi League | Hosted kabaddi training camps and league matches |
| Balewadi Stadium | Pune | Maharashtra | 11,000 | Kabaddi Masters, Pro Kabaddi League | Multi-purpose stadium with indoor facilities used for international kabaddi |
| List of Indian kabbadi captains |
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