India claims 6th Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship title, the hallmark of leadership remains with Pushpa Rana

Shimla, 8 March 2025—The Indian women’s Kabaddi team has won the Sixth Asian Women’s Kabaddi Championship in Tehran, Iran defeating host nation Iran 32-25 in the title match. Apart from this, the performance of five Himachali players, including vice-captain Pushpa Rana, Nidhi Sharma, Bhavana Thakur, Sakshi Sharma and Jyoti Thakur made the victory sweeter.

Pushpa Rana from Shillai area of Sirmaur district spearheaded the team’s remarkable accomplishment. Her leadership skills and on-field performance were crucial to India’s triumph as the vice-captain. Praises have been showered on Pushpa for her skill in guiding the team and there is recent speculation on her being the potential future captain of the Indian women’s Kabaddi team.

India’s road to the title started with a stellar semi-final win against Nepal. The match witnessed the team beat Nepal convincingly (56-18) which raised their confidence ahead of the final. With admirable strategy and skill, India proved to be the better side to defeat Iranian team 32-25 in the title clash.

This competition brought immense pride to the state with the success of the Himachal Pradesh players. Pushpa Rana’s leadership has inspired numerous young athletes of the state to play Kabaddi, and their contributions in the team’s victory is being celebrated. This victory is landmark in Indian women’s Kabaddi as the team re-establishes its supremacy on the Asian continental level.

It was, as the Indian team’s victory in Tehran proved, proper determination, teamwork and expertise. The victory not only demonstrates India’s Kabaddi superiority, but also underscores the increasing representation of players from Himachal Pradesh at the national level.

But, with the Indian women’s Kabaddi team returning home as champions, the inspiring effect of this win may lead to a new frenzy in Himachal Pradesh in terms of emerging interest and participation in Kabaddi as a new generation of players emerges on the scene. Ever since this glorious victory with Pushpa Rana as the vice captain, India’s name in Kabaddi has gone up a further notch and also has put Himachal on the map in terms of contribution to the game.