Nepal women's kabaddi team secures second straight Asian Games medal

Nepal's women's kabaddi team has guaranteed itself a medal at the 20th Asian Games. Under the tournament rules, every side that reaches the semifinals leaves with at least bronze, and Nepal booked that place on Thursday with a 34-25 group-stage victory over Sri Lanka, The Kathmandu Post reported. Nepal were ahead in both halves, 19-13 and 15-12. Sri Lanka pressed hard after the break with tight defending and Super Tackles, but Nepal answered with bonus points and Super Tackles of their own. Captain Manmati Bist sealed the result with a composed last raid in the closing seconds, and the players celebrated on the mat at Tokai Citizen Gymnasium. Nepal's route through Group B was uneven. They opened on Tuesday by recovering from a 15-24 first-half deficit to beat Thailand 46-43, then lost 37-18 to Chinese Taipei on Wednesday. Finishing as group runners-up set up a semifinal with India, the Group A leaders, on Friday, while Chinese Taipei were paired with Iran. The winners go on to Saturday's final with silver assured; the losers take bronze. Bist credited around two years of steady training and international tournaments for the turnaround, and thanked the government, the National Sports Council and the All Nepal Kabaddi Association for their backing. “We are very happy for back-to-back medals in the Asian Games,” she said. She called India a tough opponent but said her team was not a weak one. Head coach Parbati Rai, who also led the side to bronze in Hangzhou, China, said a second medal in a row meant a great deal to her as she nears the end of her coaching career, and that the team still wanted a bigger prize. Six members of the current squad were part of that earlier bronze-winning team: Bist, Menuka Kumari Rajbanshi, Jayanti Badu, Rabina Chaudhary, Sirjana Kumari Tharu and Ganga Ghimire. Nepal's men, already eliminated, closed their campaign with a 73-52 win over Malaysia, their first victory in four group matches.