Nepal women’s kabaddi team have started their 20th Asian Games campaign with a win. They defeated Thailand in a nail-biting match at Tokai Citizen Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday.

Nepal trailed Thailand by nine points in the first half. However, from 15-24 in the first half, Nepal bounced back with 31-19 in the second half and won the match 46-43.

The critical difference came through bonus points, where Nepal outscored Thailand 17 to 10, offsetting Thailand’s advantage in out points (29 to 25).

Nepal’s tactical reliance on collecting bonus points proved decisive in securing the 3-point victory despite conceding more raid touch points to Thailand.

“Those who watched this match must have felt that we lost,” said Manmati Bist, captain of the women’s team. “It took time to understand their raids. We could make a comeback in the last seven minutes.”

There are eight teams in women’s kabaddi, divided into two groups of four each. Nepal are in Group B, with Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka.

Nepal women’s team, who clinched bronze in the 2022 Asian Games, face Chinese Taipei on Wednesday and Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Nepali men’s team, who are in Group B, are already out of the contest, having lost three of their four group-stage fixtures. The men’s team lost 48-59 to Thailand on Monday. They suffered two more defeats on Tuesday—43-58 to Pakistan and 23-76 to Iran.

There are 10 men’s teams divided into two groups of five each in the tournament.

As the chance for a medal is already over for the men’s team, they can end their campaign on a high with a consolation win when they face Malaysia on Thursday.