Games-India win kabaddi, cricket golds amidst chaos, controversy

HANGZHOU, China :India passed their 100-medal target for the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday, but two of the golds they won - in the men's kabaddi and cricket - were mired in controversy.

The men's kabaddi final between India and defending champions Iran descended into chaos and was delayed for over an hour as players and coaches protested over a referee decision with the game even on points and with just over a minute to play.

There were sit down protests from players, heated discussions between coaches and referees and the final was temporarily "suspended". But eventually it restarted and India won 33-29, prompting wild celebrations from the players.

India also took gold in the men's cricket as the rain-hit T20 final against Afghanistan was decided by the superpower's superior global ranking.

Afghanistan, ranked 10th in the ICC's T20 rankings versus world number one India, were left with silver and powerless to do anything about it after rain halted the match when they were 112 for five after 18.2 overs of the first innings.

With India unable to bat a minimum required five overs, play was abandoned soon after 5 p.m. local time (0900 GMT), leaving Ruturaj Gaikwad's team to celebrate victory by default.

Deciding results based purely on teams' global rankings is almost unheard of in cricket, let alone for finals in major tournaments.

Earlier on Saturday the Indian women's kabaddi team beat Taiwan 26-25 for gold, without so much drama.

Overall, India have now hit their 100 medal target for the Asian Games. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called India's tally a "momentous achievement", writing on social media platform X: "The people of India are thrilled that we have reached a remarkable milestone of 100 medals."

India is fourth in