Anurag Thakur Hails India's Women Kabaddi Gold at Asian Games 2026
Synopsis
BJP MP Anurag Thakur celebrated the Indian women's kabaddi team's gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, spotlighting four Himachal Pradesh players who remained unbeaten through the tournament and lifted the nation's pride.
Key Takeaways
The Indian women's kabaddi team won the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan .
The team remained unbeaten throughout the entire tournament .
Four players from Himachal Pradesh were part of the gold-winning squad.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur , from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, is a former Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.
India has a long history of dominating kabaddi at the Asian Games level.
Thakur likened the Himachali players' achievement to holding 'heads as high as the Himalayas.'
Gold for India — and for the daughters of Himachal Pradesh. BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Saturday, September 26, celebrated the Indian women's kabaddi team's gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, calling special attention to four players from his home state of Himachal Pradesh who remained unbeaten through the entire tournament.
Posting in Hindi, Thakur wrote: 'Bharat ki betiyan, Bharat ka abhimaan' — 'India's daughters, India's pride' — declaring that the four Himachali players in the squad had 'held every Himachali's head as high as the Himalayas' with their performance across the competition.
An Unbeaten Run to Gold
The Indian women's kabaddi team went through the Asian Games 2026 tournament without a single defeat, claiming the top position on the podium in a sport where India has historically been the dominant force. The victory continues a storied run for the national women's squad, which has built its reputation as a near-unassailable presence in continental kabaddi. For a discipline rooted in the subcontinent's soil, every Asian Games gold carries outsized national significance.
Himachal's Four in the Spotlight
Himachal Pradesh, a Himalayan state better known for its ski slopes and hill stations than its sports academies, has quietly developed a pipeline of kabaddi talent through state-level infrastructure. Thakur — who served as Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports before returning to the backbench — has long championed grassroots sports development from his Hamirpur constituency. His post underscores a broader pattern: political figures from sports-active constituencies amplifying the achievements of local athletes on national stages as a point of regional pride and policy validation.
Kabaddi's Place in India's Asian Games Identity
India's kabaddi teams — men's and women's both — have been cornerstones of the country's Asian Games medal haul for decades. The discipline, indigenous to South Asia, gives India a near-home advantage on the continental stage that few other sports can match. A gold here is not a surprise; it is an expectation. Which makes the pressure on every squad enormous — and the clean, unbeaten run all the more worth celebrating.
Four women from a Himalayan state just helped keep that record intact. That story deserves more than a medal tally footnote.
Point of View
He connects a national triumph to constituency-level pride — a move that doubles as a soft endorsement of the state's sports infrastructure. At a broader level, India's consistent dominance in kabaddi at the Asian Games serves as a reliable policy talking point for proponents of investing in indigenous sports disciplines. The unbeaten gold run will likely feed into conversations about funding for kabaddi academies and the preparation roadmap for the next World Kabaddi Championship.
NationPress
26 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Did India win gold in women's kabaddi at the Asian Games 2026?
Yes. The Indian women's kabaddi team won the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, completing the tournament without a single defeat.
Where are the Asian Games 2026 being held?
The Asian Games 2026 are hosted by Aichi-Nagoya, Japan .
What did Anurag Thakur say about the women's kabaddi team?
BJP MP Anurag Thakur praised the Indian women's kabaddi team's gold medal and highlighted four Himachal Pradesh players in the squad, saying they made every Himachali proud by keeping their 'heads as high as the Himalayas' throughout the tournament.
How many players from Himachal Pradesh were in the Indian women's kabaddi team at Asian Games 2026?
According to Anurag Thakur's post, four players from Himachal Pradesh were part of the gold-winning Indian women's kabaddi squad at the Asian Games 2026.
Has India's women's kabaddi team won Asian Games gold before?
Yes. India's kabaddi teams — both men's and women's — have historically dominated the Asian Games, with India winning multiple gold medals in the discipline at previous editions including the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang.
