Ahmedabad, Nov 2026 : India completed a memorable double at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026, winning both the men’s and women’s titles after registering convincing victories in the finals at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The Indian men’s team defeated Sri Lanka 54-20 in the gold medal match, while the women’s side beat Uganda 35-15 to secure the championship. Both teams remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, underlining India’s dominance in the competition.
In the men’s final, Aditya Shinde led India’s attack with 10 raid points, including four bonus points, to register a Super 10. Bharat Hooda contributed eight raid points, all in the second half, and remained untouched in seven raids.
Pankaj Mohite added six raid points, while vice-captain Naveen Kumar scored five. India’s defence was equally effective, with Yogesh Dahiya producing a High 5 after completing all five of his tackle attempts in the first half.
Shubham Shinde, captain Surjeet Singh, Pravesh Malik and Deepak Sankar chipped in with two tackle points each. India accumulated 30 raid points and 14 tackle points, while inflicting four all-outs on Sri Lanka. The hosts did not concede a single all-out during the match.
Maduwantha was Sri Lanka’s most effective defender, scoring six tackle points, including two Super Tackles. Ansaf and Viduranga added three points each.
However, Sri Lanka’s raiders struggled to make an impact against India’s defence. Sabihan, Milinda Chathuranga and Viduranga, who had played important roles in the semi-final victory over Kenya, managed only five raid points from 31 attempts in the final.
Sri Lanka also failed in seven of their nine do-or-die raids, finishing the match with 11 raid points and nine tackle points.
Aditya said the support from the Ahmedabad crowd had made the victory even more special.
“With more and more tournaments being held, it’s great for the people of Ahmedabad too, and we received so much support from them. We hope everyone comes out to support us the same way in the competitions ahead,” he said, adding that a big celebration was already underway.
The men’s triumph capped an unbeaten campaign for India. The team topped Group A with six victories, defeating England 46-26, Uganda 44-30, Malaysia 37-23, Nigeria 50-23, Tanzania 48-20 and Sri Lanka 45-24.
India then produced another commanding performance in the semi-final, beating Bangladesh 56-27 to book a place in the final. The team scored 380 points during the tournament and conceded 193.
In the women’s final, Sakshi spearheaded India’s attack with nine raid points from 10 attempts, including two bonus points. She scored seven points in the first half, completing all six of her raids successfully.
Anu Sen contributed six raid points, while captain Nidhi Sharma added five, including three bonus points. Ritu Mitharwal and Suman Sahu strengthened the defence with four tackle points each.
India finished with 20 raid points and 10 tackle points, besides inflicting two all-outs on Uganda.
For Uganda, Nakayongo Shirat was the leading scorer, accounting for 11 of the team’s 15 points. She made 24 of Uganda’s 35 raids and secured three bonus points. The remaining raiders managed just three points, while semi-final standout Nalwoga Nahia was restricted to one.
Zalwango Jemima registered Uganda’s only successful tackle against an Indian raider in the match. Uganda finished with 14 raid points and one tackle point.
Sakshi ended the championship with 52 points from six matches and was India’s top performer in the final.
“I’m feeling great that I could score nine raid points and help the team win. The atmosphere in the team is euphoric after winning the gold medal and everyone is very happy,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of international tournaments in developing the sport and providing exposure to young players. Sakshi said she had noticed improvement in the performances of other participating teams compared with last year and thanked the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) for organising the championship.
The Indian women’s team also completed a perfect campaign, winning all six matches in Ahmedabad. They began with a 73-13 victory over Malaysia before beating Singapore 32-16, Uganda 41-18 and Nigeria 38-10 to finish at the top of Group A.
India then defeated Sri Lanka 39-14 in the semi-final before overcoming Uganda in the title clash.
The double triumph gave India both Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship trophies, with the men’s and women’s teams combining strong raiding performances and disciplined defence to finish the tournament without a defeat.
