Sonipat: Away from the spotlight and behind a veil of secrecy, a 15-member Iranian women’s kabaddi squad and their coach have been quietly preparing for the Asian Games at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Sonipat.The Iranian women’s team, a serious contender on the Asian stage, arrived here on Aug 13 and are scheduled to train here for a week. Since their arrival, they have been largely kept away from the public eye and have avoided meeting people outside their training programme. The players have also requested that their names not be made public.At the 2018 Asiad, both the Iran men and women kabaddi teams won gold. In 2023, the women’s team won the bronze medal, while the men won silver.The women’s team had been training for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games (Sept 19-Oct 4) when the US-Iran war broke out. All their plans went haywire. The instability cost them nearly three months of training. And the disruption was not limited to sport. The players’ biggest concern was the safety of their families.There were weeks when some players did not know where their families were or whether they were safe. Training continued, but so did the anxiety.Training had to go on, and they found a safe harbour in India. The Iranian contingent obtained permission from the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) before making their travel plans.The Iranian squad has been training twice a day at the SAI centre and plays practice matches with local players, getting much-needed competitive exposure.For the Indian players, it’s an opportunity to test themselves against an international side.SAI coach Naveen said the interaction has created considerable excitement among the local players. The Iranian team also trained at Khokhar Academy in Sonipat, where they played practice matches as well. Its coach, Rajveer Khokhar, said the session proved extremely beneficial for his players.
