Games-Chaos in men's kabaddi final as India take gold
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India’s Pawan Kumar (in blue) competing in the men's kabaddi gold-medal match against Iran during the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Oct 7.
PHOTO: AFP
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HANGZHOU, China - The final of the men's kabaddi competition at the Asian Games descended into chaos and was suspended as players and coaches protested over a referee decision with the game even on points and with just over a minute to play.
After a time when it was unclear whether the match could conclude, India beat reigning champions Iran 33-29.
The drama centred on a decision about allocating points for a "raid" by an Indian player into the Iranian half.
With the match on the line, coaches and players from both sides remonstrated immediately with officials, waving their arms angrily, and officials gathered round a screen to watch the replay of the incident.
When the officials made a decision that pleased Iran but not India, the Indian coaches and players redoubled their protests.
More chaos followed, with officials walking on and off the court, going to and from the off-court officials' zone and attempting, unsuccessfully, to get the Indian coaching staff to accept the decision.
It appeared at one point the Indian coach and one official might come to blows.
When the Iran players were ready to restart, the Indians sat in their half in protest, and officials returned to the court. A caption on the live feed in the main media centre read "Competition Suspended".
When it appeared the decision would go India's way, the Indian players stood up and the Iran side sat down.
Kabaddi matches involve two halves of 20 minutes with a five minute break at half-way. This final began at 3pm local time.
The game, meant to total 45 minutes, restarted around 5:15 p.m. (0915 GMT), more than two hours after it began, with India up 31-29. India notched two more points in the last minute, sparking wild celebration by their players on the court.
India won the women's kabaddi final earlier on Saturday to take gold, improving on their silver at the 2018 Asian Games.
Kabaddi is akin to a cross between tag and rugby, played on a court the length of badminton court but slightly wider, usually in a seven-against-seven player format. The aim is for a "raider" from the attacking team to run into their opposing team's half, tag as many of the opposition's players as possible and then run back to his or her team's half without being tackled.
Other controversies involving officiating at the Hangzhou Asian Games included the final of the men's javelin, when officials failed to record a "good" first throw by eventual champion Neeraj Chopra.
In the women's 100 metres hurdles final on Sunday, China's Wu Yanni protested a false start she had been charged with, caused a long delay to the race and then chose to run anyway. She was later disqualified. REUTERS
