East Asian Women's Kabaddi Championship to Start June 26, Asian Games Training Team to Use as Warm-up

(CNA, Taipei, June 12, by reporter Li Chien-chung) The 2026 2nd East Asian Women's Kabaddi Championship will kick off on June 26, with four teams participating this year: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong (China), and Taiwan. The Asian Games training team's head coach, Tsai Wei-yang, stated that this event will serve as a warm-up match before the Asian Games.

The East Asian Cup is organized by the East Asian Kabaddi Federation and hosted by the Chinese Taipei Kabaddi Sports Association. This year marks the second edition of the women's tournament. The inaugural event in 2024 featured Japan, Hong Kong (China), and Taiwan, with the host team ultimately winning the championship cup.

For this year's East Asian Cup, the Taiwan representative team will compete with its Nagoya Asian Games members, using it as a practical training opportunity for the entire squad. This is also the only competition for the Taiwanese women's kabaddi team before the Asian Games.

Tsai Wei-yang told a CNA reporter that although the East Asian Cup has few participating countries and a relative gap in skill levels, it is an excellent opportunity for the Taiwan Asian Games team to gain valuable experience. "The players can also use real combat to identify the shortcomings of their usual training."

Tsai mentioned that among the foreign teams in this East Asian Cup, they need to be particularly wary of South Korea. "In the past, when we played against Korea, we often encountered turbulence at the beginning of the match and couldn't pull away with the score. We need to pay special attention to this problem this year."

At the last Hangzhou Asian Games, Taiwan's women's kabaddi team won a silver medal, and the men's kabaddi team won a bronze, achieving outstanding results. Tsai also expressed his confidence, saying, "This year, the only goal for the women's kabaddi representative team is the gold medal."

This year coincides with the election of the Chinese Taipei Kabaddi Sports Association. The new president, Lin Mao-jung, was elected as the 5th president at the board meeting on March 28. The 61-year-old Lin is the vice chairman of Chan Chao International Co., Ltd., a professional exhibition company in Taiwan. (Editor: Li Hsi-chang) 1150612