Asian Games 2018, Women's Kabaddi Semi-Final: India vs Chinese Taipei - 5 Talking Points

The Indian Women's Kabaddi team put up yet another dominating show to make its way into the finals of the 2018 Asian Games, with a 27-14 win over the Chinese Taipei at the Theatre Garuda in Indonesia.

Led by Payel Chaudhari, the Indian eves walked into the clash unbeaten in the group stages and were labeled as favourites but were humbled in the initial stages of the first half by the Chinese Taipei, who produced two super tackles in a row to turn the tables on India.

In the first half, India raced away to a 6-0 lead within five minutes which then read 11-9 at half-time, owing to a sudden resurgence from the Taipei defense, which put in two strong tackles to bring down Randeep Kaur and Sonali and reduce the lead to just one point.

However, the break seemed to do a whole lot of good for the Indian eves as they got back into their element as the Taipei endured a drought in points from which they could never make a comeback.

For India, Randeep Kaur top scored in the raiding department with five points to her credit while Sakshi Kumari's magisterial defending from the left corner further dented the Chinese Taipei's hopes of a comeback.

Here are the talking points from the women's kabaddi clash between India and the Chinese Taipei.

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#1 Twin 'Super Tackles' from the Chinese Taipei

The Indian eves seemed to be running away with a six-point lead in the first portion of the first half but a sudden shift in momentum came to light when the Chinese Taipei, with just three players on the mat brought down Randeep Kaur and Sonali in consecutive raids

The two super tackles, which gave the Chinese Taipei two points in a row changed the scoreline from 6-0 in favor of the Indians to 7-4, which gave the Taipei some confidence in the first half.

#2 Sakshi Kumari's High-5

The Indian left corner has enjoyed a terrific run in the tournament so far and proved her mettle yet again, throwing all her power and determination into the ankle holds she pulled off in both the holds.

Such was Sakshi's dominance that she finished the match with a 100% strike record, with five tackle points from all of her five attempts.

#3 Randeep Kaur makes merry with classy raiding

Gifted with a long reach and fast legs, Randeep Kaur's top-class raiding ensured India did not fall behind right throughout the match. Randeep targetted the corners all through the match and was successful in all her raids except on the one occasion when she was pinned down on the mat by a super tackle.

Raiding alongside skipper Payel Chaudhari, Randeep picked up five points from the game and finished as the top raider of the match.

#4 A 3rd-minute time-out called by the Chinese Taipei coach

India's flying start certainly dented the confidence of the Chinese Taipei players, who looked all out of steam in the opening minutes of the contest. The Indian raiders were on top of their task while Sakshi Kumari also had two tackle points to her credit.

With his wards certainly under the pump, the Chinese Taipei's coach called for a time-out as early as in the third minute, which did work as his players pulled off two super tackles to add some pressure on the Indians.

#5 India's dominance in the second half

At the end of the first half, the scoreline read 11-9, which seemed to hint at a tight second half. However, that was not to be as the Indian team found its lost fire in the second half as eves picked up 16 points in the second half, giving away only 5 points to the Chinese Taipei and with that asserted dominance in the second half to run away with the game.

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