India’s men’s and women’s teams made winning starts to their respective Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 campaigns at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The Indian men’s kabaddi team comfortably dispatched England by a 46-26 scoreline in their first Group A match of the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship while the women dominated Malaysia 73-13 in their group fixture.
The Indian women’s kabaddi team dominated from the outset, racing to a 20-3 lead, before extending their advantage to 30-11 at half-time.
Led by captain Nidhi Sharma, who scored eight raid points, India controlled the contest with superior raiding and ruthless tackling.
They finished with 40 raid points and 20 tackle points, compared to Malaysia’s nine raid points and two tackle points, while inflicting six All-outs without conceding one.
Sakshi led the scoring with 13 points, including eight raid points and five tackle points, while Renuka made an impressive contribution off the bench, scoring nine raid points from nine raids.
Anu added six points, while Karthika Ramesh and Jyoti contributed six and four tackle points, respectively. Malaysia captain Darsini led her side with three raid points.
India stepped up their dominance after the break with Renuka scoring seven points from six raids, before completing the rout in the final quarter.
India’s men followed with a convincing 46-26 win over England, with Naveen Kumar and Neeraj Narwal leading the charge.
Captain Surjeet Singh’s side outscored their kabaddi opponents 32-23 in raids and 8-3 in tackles, while inflicting three All-outs without conceding one.
Two-time Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) MVP Naveen finished as India’s leading scorer with 12 points, including 11 raid points and one tackle point, while Neeraj Narwal contributed 11 raid points.
Pankaj Mohite added four points and Sachin three, while Nitesh and Deepak S contributed three and two tackle points, respectively. India also registered 24 touch points, significantly more than England’s nine.
India established control early, taking a 15-5 lead, and extending it to 23-9 at half-time. The hosts scored 14 raid points and five tackle points in the opening half, inflicting two All-outs to build a comfortable advantage.
England mounted a fightback early in the second-half but India responded strongly in the final quarter.
India’s women will next face Singapore on Saturday while the men will take on Uganda.
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