The title holders first spanked Bangladesh 40-21 and then prevailed over Japan 44-25 to keep themselves on course for a fifth gold medal in the Games history.

The Indians managed three bonus points in the first half against the East Asians and were leading 29-11 at half-time.

They got a bonus point in the second session to wrap up the match quite comfortably at the Aspire Sports Academy.

India have won the kabaddi gold medal each time since the sport was first introduced in the Asian Games in 1990.

Bangladesh have been runners-up three times.

In the morning, the India-Bangladesh match looked like getting close as India managed to lead only 9-8 at one stage in the first half. But Bangladeshi raiders rapidly succumbed to the sharp responses of India's defenders and soon found themselves out of action.

With 18 out points, four bonuses, and two lonas, India stretched their lead at half time to 24-14.

In the second half, India dominated and ran out comfortable winners.

An elated coach Balwan Singh said, "It was good to start the campaign on a winning note. We were confident of victory but our players became a bit complacent and the defence conceded some points."

Earlier, their traditional rivals Pakistan also got off to a fine start, defeating Japan 34-16 in another round-robin game.

Japan struggled throughout the first half, scoring sporadic points as their raiders failed to make an impact, while Pakistan's defence continued to successfully hunt in packs.

With 18 out points, one bonus point and four lonas, Pakistan went into the half-time with a commanding 236 lead.

After the break, they slowed down to conserve energy.