Star raider Naveen Kumar and veteran defender Surjeet Singh will headline India’s 14-member men’s squad at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026, scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, from October 23 to 31.
The inaugural edition of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship will take place at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex.
The kabaddi tournament will feature 13 men’s teams, split into groups of seven and six, while the 10 women’s teams will be divided equally into two groups of five.
India men are placed in Group A alongside Nigeria, Malaysia, Uganda, England, Tanzania and Sri Lanka. The Indian women’s team is also in Group A, alongside Nigeria, Singapore, Uganda and Malaysia.
Naveen Kumar, Surjeet Singh, Nitesh Kumar, Sachin Tanwar and Parvesh Bhainswal all bring international experience to the squad. All five were members of India’s gold medal-winning team at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou.
Naveen is also a two-time Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) MVP while Surjeet holds the record for most tackle points by an Indian in PKL history.
The remaining nine players are set to make their senior international debuts for India at the championship.
Bharat Hooda and Nitesh Kumar were among the leading raiders and defenders in the last PKL season.
None of the players who were part of India’s men’s or women’s kabaddi teams that won the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 have been included in either squad.
Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 India squad
Indian men’s kabaddi team: Sachin Tanwar, Naveen Kumar, Bharat Hooda, Pankaj Mohite, Aditya Shinde, Shivam Patare, Neeraj Narwal, Surjeet Singh, Ajit Pawar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Shubham Shinde, Yogesh Dahiya, Nitesh Kumar, Deepak Sankar.
Indian women’s kabaddi team: Nidhi Sharma, Simran Kamboj, Champa Thakur, Anu Kumari, Ritu Mitharwal, Karthika Ramesh, Suman Sahu, Sakshi, Jyothi, Riya Kumari, Renuka Choudhary, Muskan Sharma, Priya, Sabhai Gadhavi.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/commonwealth-kabaddi-championship-2026-india-squad-team-players
