Ahmedabad, Oct 2026 : India’s men’s and women’s teams delivered commanding performances to reach the finals of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The Indian men defeated Bangladesh 56-27 in the semifinals and will face Sri Lanka in the title clash on October 31. Sri Lanka secured their place in the final after edging Kenya 28-24 in a closely contested encounter.
In the women’s section, India registered a convincing 39-14 victory over Sri Lanka to set up a final against Uganda. Uganda booked their place after narrowly defeating Kenya 23-21 in a match that went down to the final minute.
India’s men asserted their dominance against Bangladesh from the opening minutes, with Naveen Kumar and Neeraj Narwal leading the raiding effort, while Deepak S and Shubham Shinde strengthened the defence. Bangladesh opened their account through Dipayon Golder, but India quickly seized control, inflicting the first All-Out within five minutes.
Bharat Hooda and Shivam Patare subsequently took charge of the raiding, helping India widen the gap. Deepak S continued to make crucial contributions in defence as India inflicted a second All-Out with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
India went into the break with a commanding 28-8 lead. Bangladesh struggled to find openings, with Dipayon Golder and Md Rahman relying on raids to keep their scoring moving. The visitors failed to register a tackle point in the first half.
India maintained their momentum after the restart, combining effective raids with disciplined defence to lead 38-16 with 10 minutes remaining. Bharat Hooda continued to trouble the Bangladesh defence and helped India inflict another All-Out with four minutes left, taking the score to 49-20.
India eventually completed a comprehensive 56-27 victory, recording 37 raid points, 12 tackle points and six All-Out points.
Hooda was India’s top scorer with 13 points, while Shivam Patare contributed 11 and Neeraj Narwal added nine. Ajit Pawar also impressed in defence, finishing with five tackle points from eight tackles.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, held off a determined Kenyan challenge to win 28-24 and earn a place in the men’s final. Milinda Chathuranga and Sabihan scored six points each, while Viduranga added four. Made Dwiki Sanjaya led the defensive effort with five tackle points. Kenya’s Helvic Wanjala top-scored with nine points, followed by Samuel Wafula with six.
In the women’s semifinal, India led Sri Lanka 24-7 at half-time before completing a 39-14 win. Sakshi led the scoring with 11 points, including eight raid points and three tackle points. Captain Nidhi Sharma added 10 points from 12 raids, including two bonus points.
Ritu anchored the defence with four tackle points, while Suman contributed three. India collected 21 raid points and 12 tackle points and inflicted three All-Outs. Sri Lanka’s Diluxshana scored six points, including five bonus points, while Priyavarna produced a Super Tackle. Sri Lanka managed only eight successful raids throughout the match.
After the victory, India captain Nidhi Sharma said she was delighted to reach the final and expected a competitive match against Uganda, who could alter their strategy after facing India previously.
