TEHRAN – Iran’s men’s kabaddi team claimed a silver medal after losing to India 33-29 in the final match of the 2022 Asian Games in a controversial match on Saturday.

With one minute remaining, Pawan Sehrawat from the Indian team was forced to go in for a do-or-die raid. During his raid, Pawan went out of bounds without making contact with any Iranian defenders.

In response, Amirhossein Bastami and three other Iranian defenders rushed towards Pawan in an attempt to push him out.

This led to a moment of confusion, as it was unclear whether Pawan had been successfully tackled or not. Initially, Iran was awarded a point for their efforts to stop Pawan.

However, the Indian contingent, including players and officials, began arguing with the on-court umpire and the TV officials.

After further review and perhaps another referral, the officials decided to award three points to India. It’s mentioned that the number of points could vary depending on the number of players who went out with Pawan. This decision led to protests from the Iranian team.

According to the old rule, India would get four (or possibly five) points, while the new rule would give one point to each team because one of the Iranian defenders (Bastami) went out of the line (self-out).