Asiad 2018: Iran beat India in kabaddi semis to script history
Jakarta, Aug 23 : Iran scripted history in the annals of world kabaddi by stunning India 27-18 in the semi-finals of the 18th Asian Games here on Thursday.
This is the first time since the traditional rural sport was included in the Asian Games in 1990 that the Indian men's team will not take home the gold.
Apart from ending India's 28-year run as defending champions at the Asiad, Thursday's defeat was also India's first at any major tournament. Along with the Asian Games, India have won every World Cup, Asia Cup and South Asian Games till now.
This is also Iran's first victory over India in the knock-out stages of any tournament.
In a match which saw a thrilling battle between Indian raiders and Iran's defence, Iran proved superior. Iran struggled initially, but used their expertise in the super tackle to script an amazing comeback.
Right from the start, Indian raiders struggled to get points while Iran, on the other hand, maintained their dominance throughout the match thanks to their defence. Iran took most of their points through super-tackles which helped them overpower overwhelming favourites India.
The match was off to a somewhat tentative start before exploding with power-packed action in the second half. Both teams displayed a strong, physical style and sometimes overt aggression which kept the packed stadium at the edge of their seats.
Rishank Devadiga drew first blood for India through a brilliant raid followed by three more consecutive points, thanks to defender Girish Ernak.
When the scoreboard was reading 4-0, Iran defender Nabibaksh grabbed Rishank to open his team's account.
Experienced raider Pardeep Narwal also joined the party and stole few points to make score read 6-1. But after that Abolfazl Maghsoudlou got the big fish as he touched defender Girish to send him out.
When the score was 6-4 in favour of India, the series of super-tackles started for Iran which blew away India's attack. India started giving away easy points and both teams went to the half time break locked at 9-9.
The second half saw Iran dominating Indian raiders. The late substitution of star player Rahul Chaudhary also allowed Iran to put pressure on India.
Rahul came on the mat with less than 10 minutes remaining and straightaway took three points but lack of support from defence and other raiders put Rahul on back-foot.
Monu Goyat, Pardeep, Rishank also looked hapless in front of the Iran defence and went off the mat one by one.
Iran Nabibaksh then touched Mohit and Girish towards the end to inflict an all out on their opponents and dash Indian hopes. At the end, Abozar Mighani and Fazel Athrachali made it a formality and comfortably marched into the final.
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Mangaluru: Flight operations to gulf remain affected on March 4, 5
Mangaluru: Flight operations between Mangaluru and several Gulf destinations continue to remain affected, with multiple services cancelled on March 4 and 5, according to a statement issued by the airport spokesperson.
The cancelled flights on March 4 include
Mangaluru–Jeddah (IX 845)
Jeddah–Mangaluru (IX 846)
Mangaluru–Dubai (IX 831)
Mangaluru–Dubai (IX 813)
Mangaluru–Kuwait (IX 851)
Mangaluru–Dammam (IX 847)
Mangaluru–Abu Dhabi (IX 815).
Flights cancelled on March 5 include
Dubai–Mangaluru (IX 832)
Dubai–Mangaluru (IX 814)
Dammam–Mangaluru (IX 848)
Abu Dhabi–Mangaluru (IX 816).
Meanwhile, airline operations to Mumbai, Delhi and a few other cities from the Gulf are beginning in a limited manner.
Air India announced that it is deploying widebody aircraft with higher passenger capacity on its services to Jeddah and Dubai on March 3 and 4 to facilitate the return of passengers impacted by the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
A Boeing 777 aircraft with a seating capacity of close to 350 passengers departed Mumbai for Jeddah on the evening of March 3, the airline said in a statement.
This will be followed by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft with around 300 seats scheduled to depart Delhi for Dubai later in the night, and another Boeing 787-8 aircraft with over 250 seats operating from Mumbai to Dubai in the early hours of March 4.
Air India is deploying its widebody aircraft with higher capacity on its services to Jeddah and Dubai on 3 and 4 March to facilitate the return of passengers impacted by the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
— Air India Newsroom (@AirIndia_News) March 3, 2026
A Boeing 777 aircraft with a capacity of close to 350 seats… pic.twitter.com/NosjYSOhUE
Air India Express said it will resume flight operations to and from Muscat from March 3, 2026.
Air India Express will resume flight operations to and from Muscat from 3 March 2026. Meanwhile, flights to and from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will remain suspended until 23:59 hrs IST (18:29 hrs UTC) on 3 March 2026. Guests are advised to… pic.twitter.com/7eitC7huQv
— Air India Express (@AirIndiaX) March 2, 2026
However, flights to and from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will remain suspended until 23:59 hrs IST (18:29 hrs UTC) on March 3.
SpiceJet is operating special flights from Fujairah to Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi to support Indian nationals travelling back home.
SpiceJet is operating special flights from Fujairah to Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi to support Indian nationals travelling home.
— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) March 3, 2026
Standing by when it matters!
Jai Hind 🇮🇳#flyspicejet #spicejet pic.twitter.com/0wznG7hQgv
