India beat Iran amid kabaddi final row

A kabaddi match lasts 45 minutes. On Saturday, the India-Iran men's final dragged on for about 100 minutes, including a 60-minute break of farcical proportions. Seven-time champions India had waited for five years to reclaim gold, and with the contest at 28-all with a minute left, desperation spilled on to the mat at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre.

- Shantanu Srivastava

Eventually, India won 33-29, but it was a controversial affair. With Iran, the 2018 champions, having emerged a threat to India's supremacy, the match was always going to be a tense affair. The teams went toe-to-toe in regulation and beyond, and the flashpoint arrived with 65 seconds left.

Drama began shortly after India captain Pawan Sehrawat stepped up for a raid. He tried to tag an opposing defender but couldn't and hence stepped out into the lobby with the Iranians in pursuit. Lobby is the one-metre wide area between the inner line and the outer edge of the court and is considered active only when contact is been made between the raider and a defender. Sehrawat was followed by at least three Iranian defenders, who entered the danger zone trying to tackle him.