‘Ye referees ko rules samjao koi’ – Fans react as amid huge drama during Asian Games 2023 Kabaddi final clash, India clinch gold by defeating Iran

The final match of the Kabaddi tournament was played between India and Iran in Hangzhou on Saturday, October 7. The Men in Blue defeated Iran 33-29 to clinch the Gold medal, however, what caught the most attention was the controversy which lasted long for almost an hour.

In the closing moments of the second half of the match, there was a moment of confusion involving Pawan Sehrawat from the Indian team. He was declared out, and Iran scored a point, but Pawan contested, claiming he was out of bounds without being touched. 

This triggered a review where India asked for four points, while Iran wanted Pawan’s points. Initially, the decision was to award one point to each side, resulting in Pawan and Bastami from Iran being declared out. However, this decision was quickly overturned, leading to further confusion. 

India have crossed the 100-medal mark in Asian Games 2023

According to the old rule, India should have received four points as Pawan had gone out. Iran opposed this, arguing that the new rule would only give one point to each team. The situation became chaotic, and the AKFI secretary-general intervened to review the video footage. Ultimately, he ruled that each team would be awarded one point, in line with the new rule. However, later the contest resumed with India winning the match.

Talking about India’s medal tally, on the 14th day of the Asian Games, India’s medal count reached a total of 103. India’s archery athletes, Jyothi Surekha and Ojas Pravin Deotale, secured gold medals in the women’s and men’s compound events, respectively. In addition to that, Abhishek Verma won a silver medal, and Aditi Gopichand earned a bronze in archery. India‘s women’s kabaddi team claimed the gold medal by defeating Chinese Taipei in the final and of course the men’s team also secured a gold medal after a controversial final match against Iran.

Here’s how fans reacted:

https://twitter.com/NatureWhy1/status/1710576486258999596