Women fall flat in kabaddi

The Bangladesh women's kabaddi team began their Asian Games campaign on the wrong foot, losing against Chinese Taipei by 43-28 points and all but ending their hopes of a medal in the event yesterday.

The women in red and green, who won a bronze medal at the Incehon Games four years ago, fell flat against a more fit and agile Taipei team, who took a substantial lead in the first half before turning up the heat after the break. Bangladesh trailed the first half by 23-16 points.

Bangladesh coach Abdul Jalil claimed that their lack of competitive match practice and the opposition's improved performance were the reasons behind this disappointing start.

“We were a bit surprised to see the performance from the Chinese Taipei team. We did not play against them before, but we believe they have improved a lot,” the coach said in his post-match reaction.

“We did not play a single competitive match this year. While we improved our performance, everyone else has improved a lot more,” said the veteran coach.

Chinese Taipei, who finished seventh among seven teams last time around, played a few practice matches against South-East Asian teams ahead of this tournament.

The defeat all but ends Bangladesh's chances of securing a medal in these Games as they will have to win against last edition's runners-up Iran and a fast-improving South Korea in the remaining group matches.

The men's team meanwhile, were up against the might of India and despite putting up some resistance in the first half, they lost the game by 50-21 points.

Bangladesh fought back from 8-0 to 20-12 at the end of the first half, but surrendered meekly against the pro-kabaddi league stars after the break.