The Iranian national team of men kabaddi defeated South Korea in the final match of the sportive field on Thursday and snatched the gold medal of the 2018 Asian Games underway in Indonesia.

The Iranian squad pipped the South Korean rivals 26 to 16 to be crowned as the champions of kabaddi in Asia. They had upset the South Koreans in the first half 10 to 8 and heavily burdened them in the second half with more raids.

Prior to reaching to the semi-final where the Iranian outfit defeated Thailand, the Iranian athletes defeated Japan, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nepal and Indonesia.

Coached by Gholamreza Mazandarani, the Iranian squad managed to garner the 12th gold medal for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the games.

In women’s section, Iran also hurt India’s pride in kabaddi yet again as it delivered a second straight knockout punch to the sport’s most successful nation in the women’s gold medal match of the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta on Friday. Iranian women won the women’s title with a 27-24 thriller over India.

The Iranian women emulated thus their male counterparts, who had shocked seven-time champions India in the semifinals on Thursday.

In a Thursday match held at Wibawa Mukti Stadium, Iran was eliminated after losing the game 0-2 to South Korea.

Hwang Ui and Seungwoo Lee scored two goals for the East Asian team in 40 and 55 minutes. Iranian squad didn’t create any serious chance for making a score.

“Today two of the best Asian teams faced each other which led to a very tight competition. And South Korea came as the final winner. Take this into account that we participated with our U21 team and managed to advance from the group stage as the leader. And we met South Korea which has come to grab the gold medal,” said Iran’s coach Zlatko Kranjca in a post-match press conference.

The 2018 Asian Games are underway in Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang and will go through September 2. 378 Iranian athletes are participating in the event.

In Men’s Sanda 70kg category, Mohsen Mohammadseifi defeated China’s Shi Zhanwei 2-0 and snatched his third consecutive gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games. He had gained victory over rivals from Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, and South Korea to reach the final match of the event.

Foroud Zafari, in Men’s Sanda 65kg suffered a 0-2 defeat from Chinese Mengfan Li in the final bout and settled for the silver medal. In his route to the final fixture, he overpowered representatives of Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

Iranian sisters, Elaheh and Shahrbano Mansouriyan also grabbed two silver medals in Women’s Sanda. In 53kg category, Elaheh Mansouriyan was defeated by China’s Yueyao Li in the final match and pocketed the silver to repeat her 2014 Incheon medal. The Iranian female athlete won matches against her Indian and Vietnamese rivals before defeating Philippine’s Divine Wally in the semifinals.

In the 60kg event, Shahrbano Mansouriyan gained the silver medal after losing the final match to China’s Yingying Cai. She had overpowered rivals from Vietnam and Thailand to advance to the final bout.

Accordingly, Iranian Wushu practitioners finished 2018 Asian Games gaining two gold and four silver medals.

The competitions are underway in Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang and will go through September 2. 378 Iranian athletes are participating in the event.

According to Nasrollah Sajjadi, the head of the Iranian outfit at the 2018 Asian Games, Iranian female athletes will take part in 22 sports including: archery, badminton, 3-on-3 basketball, cycling, horse riding, fencing, kabaddi, karate, kurash, jujutsu, judo, pencak silat, sambo, wushu, squash, table tennis, taekwondo, track and field, boat racing, shooting, tennis, and rock climbing.

The Iranian outfit at the 2018 Asian Games comprises 193 coaches, 379 athletes, 30 referees, and 29 heads of federations.

The 2018 Asian Games will start on Aug. 18 and will wrap up on Sep. 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. The 19-year-old taekwondo practitioner and 2016 Rio Olympic Games bronze medalist Kimia Alizadeh will carry the Iranian flag at the inauguration of the competitions.