India kabaddi captain Sunil Kumar says the team is well prepared for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya as India targets another men’s gold medal.
New Delhi, Sept. 18: India’s men’s kabaddi team will enter the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya with a mix of experienced players, established Pro Kabaddi League stars and emerging talent, with captain Sunil Kumar saying the team is well prepared for the competition.
The 27-year-old right defender was part of India’s gold-medal winning campaign at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2022. He will now lead a 12-member squad that includes four players from that title-winning side — Sunil, Arjun Deshwal, Aslam Inamdar and Pawan Sehrawat.
The squad also features established PKL players such as Ashu Malik, Jaideep Dahiya, Devank Dalal and Rahul Sethpal, along with younger players including Ayan Lohchab.
Sunil said the team’s preparation began six to eight months ahead of the Asian Games, allowing the players to work on combinations, tactical plans, fitness and individual skills.
“The preparation has been very good because our federation and SAI started our camp six to eight months ago. We have planned the team combination and strategy well,” Sunil told SAI Media.
“We first practised at SAI Bengaluru, then went to Bellary for training, and now our camp is at SAI Gandhinagar,” he added.
The extended camp has given the team time to establish roles and combinations before the competition. Eight of the 12 members are current captains or vice-captains of their respective PKL teams for Season 12, adding considerable leadership experience to the squad.
India’s men’s kabaddi team will look to build on its long record at the Asian Games. The country won the men’s gold at Hangzhou 2022, with Sunil among the players in that campaign.
Three other members of the current squad — Deshwal, Inamdar and Sehrawat — were also part of the previous gold-medal winning team.
Sunil said the current generation wants to carry forward the standards established by India's senior players.
“Our senior players gave the team a different identity and brought so many gold medals for India. We want to maintain that legacy, add another gold medal to India's tally and follow the path that our legends have created,” he said.
The captain said the team had worked across both defence and attack, with particular attention to tactical planning, combinations, fitness and individual development.
“You cannot win just by one person’s effort. This time, our raiding and defence departments are both quite strong. To a large extent, we have the top players in kabaddi in our team, whether you look at the raiders or the defenders,” Sunil said.
“We have done all the preparation. We have worked on our strategy, team combination, fitness and individual skills. Now we have to execute all of that properly when the competition comes,” he added.
As a right defender, Sunil will have a key role in organising India's defensive unit and maintaining communication during difficult phases of matches. His experience of playing alongside several of the squad's established raiders is also expected to help the team maintain its combinations.
The captain stressed that individual performances alone would not be enough to achieve the team's objective.
“The effort of one player will not be enough. Everyone has to contribute. Our raiders, defenders and all-rounders have to work together as one team,” he said.
Sunil added that the squad wanted to preserve the identity built by earlier generations of Indian kabaddi players while approaching the Asian Games as a collective unit.
“We want to maintain the identity that our seniors created for Indian kabaddi, work together as a team and give everything when we give it all at the Asian Games,” he said.
The kabaddi competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be held at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium in Tokai City, Aichi Prefecture. The campaign begins on September 21, with the men’s and women’s finals scheduled for September 26.
