Hangzhou, Oct 3 (PTI) The Indian men's kabaddi team, who are a record seven-time champions, began their campaign with an emphatic 55-18 win over Bangladesh in a group fixture at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.

In their bid to regain the Asian Games gold medal, the Indians, who slipped to a bronze at the 2018 edition, took a 24-9 lead at the half-time.

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Naveen Kumar Goyat and Arjun Deshwal spearheaded their raids in style to inflict the first all-out in the 12th minute.

Bangladesh managed to inflict two supertackles in the first half on Pawan Sehrawat and then on Goyat but that proved insufficient as India took 12-point lead inside 20 minutes.

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Bangladesh faltered in their raids as the Indians extended their lead in the second-half and sealed the issue.

The women's kabaddi team, who were the last edition's silver medallist, endured a disappointing start after being held to an unexpected 34-34 draw by Chinese Taipei on Monday.

In the men's event India find themselves clubbed with Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Japan in Group A.

Iran, Korea, Pakistan and Malaysia form Group B.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)