Korean kabaddi teams lose opening games at Asiad

The Korean men’s kabaddi team started a bid to win their first Asian Games gold medal in the sport with a narrow 40-38 loss to Malaysia at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday.

Korea's Jo Hyun-a, center, competes in a women's kabaddi game against Thailand at the Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Monday. [AFP/YONHAP]

The Korean men’s kabaddi team started a bid to win their first Asian Games gold medal in the sport with a narrow 40-38 loss to Malaysia at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday.

The game took place at Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China and the men’s team game was a close contest, with Korea just tagging out two people fewer.

Kabaddi is a traditional contact sport originating from India. The aim of the game is for a “raider” to get to the opposing side of the court and tag out as many defenders as possible and then return to his side. However, the raider has to do so without getting tackled and while constantly repeating “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” so as not to draw a single breath.

On a 12.5-meter by 6.25-meter (41-foot by 20-foot) court, points are scored for each player tagged by the raider while the opposing team can earn points by stopping the raider.

The Korean men’s team started to appear as an unexpected contender on the kabaddi court in 2014, taking their first Asiad medal with bronze at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014 and winning silver in the 2018 tournament.

The Korean women’s team also played on Monday at the same venue and suffered a bigger defeat to Thailand, losing the game 43-23.

The Korean women’s team has never medaled in the Asiad, with India taking gold twice in 2010 and 2014. Iran topped the podium in 2018 with a victory over India.

The Korean women’s team will next face favorite India on Tuesday, while the men’s team will play Pakistan on the same day.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN AND JIM BULLEY [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]