India wanted to beat Chinese Taipei by bigger margin, says women’s kabaddi team coach Tejaswini Bai

Mumbai, Dec 12 (PTI) The victorious Indian team had formulated its strategies based on its previous meetings against Chinese Taipei, whom it defeated 35-28 in the Women's Kabaddi World Cup final in Dhaka last month.

India emerged triumphant in the 11-team World Cup which was held after a gap of 12 years, but not before the tournament being postponed twice.

The second edition of the World Cup was set to be hosted in Bihar in June followed by Hyderabad in August this year, but was postponed twice before eventually being held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in November.

"We had met the Chinese Taipei in the group stage of the Asian Games and the scores were levelled in that game," India coach V Tejaswini Bai said on the sidelines of the team's felicitation event here by Pro Kabaddi League.

"We had then beaten them in the final by one point so we made our strategies based on those games since we wanted to beat them by a bigger margin," she added.

Tejaswini, a former India player, credited the players for their hard work in the tournament as well as the two camps which were held in the lead-up to the World Cup.

"I have been coaching since 2023 and the journey has been very special. The girls have done a lot of work and they deserve the credit along with the support staff and the association. The team showed bonding and discipline which led to us getting the result," she said.

"I have played for 20 years and there have been a lot of changes since then, in terms of facilities and support staff. I hope it stays like this and the team also keeps working hard," Tejaswini added.

India captain Ritu Negi said she felt the trophy would be won by her side despite being sidelined by an injury in the summit clash.

“Most of our matches were one-sided but the Iranian team (in the semifinal) is also very good, we were very happy getting close to winning the trophy,” she said.

Negi said winning the World Cup for a second time after 12 years was very special for her side.

"The World Cup as very important for us as it was happening after 12 years. It was postponed twice while we were attending (training) camps while we were excited that it was being held in India,” she said.

“We felt very bad when it was postponed and now that it was organised finally, we are very happy that we have returned as world champions.” Talking about the semifinal against Iran, Negi said India’s planning and execution were accurate. "Our reviews against Iran as well as our plans were also successful,” she said. PTI AG DDV APA APA