Ahmedabad, October 2026 : The Indian men’s kabaddi team secured a place in the semifinals of the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship with a commanding 48-20 victory over Tanzania at the Veer Savarkar Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
India delivered an impressive all-round performance, combining aggressive raiding with a disciplined defence to dominate the contest. The hosts collected 30 raid points and 10 tackle points while inflicting six all-outs on Tanzania. The visitors managed 15 raid points and five tackle points but failed to register an all-out.
Neeraj Narwal spearheaded India’s raiding attack, scoring 12 points from 16 raids, including six bonus points. Naveen Kumar and Shivam Patare also played crucial roles, contributing nine points each. Naveen secured nine raid points from 11 raids, while Patare matched his tally with nine raid points from the same number of attempts.
India’s defence complemented the raiders’ efforts with an effective display. Shubham Shinde led the defensive unit with five tackle points, while Deepak added three and Pravesh Malik contributed two.
For Tanzania, Juma Sultania emerged as the leading performer, scoring 13 points from 20 raids, including nine bonus points. However, his individual effort was insufficient to challenge India’s overall superiority.
The victory strengthened India’s campaign for the title and confirmed their place in the last four. India will face Sri Lanka in their final group-stage match on October 29 at 8:30 PM. The semifinals are scheduled for October 30, with India continuing their pursuit of the championship.
Elsewhere, Kenya Women registered a comprehensive 61-16 victory over Scotland Women, reinforcing their strong position in the competition after securing semifinal qualification. Lavenda Odhiambo led Kenya with 16 points, while Esther Omolo scored nine and Joy Vanessa Onyango added six. Kenya accumulated 37 raid points and inflicted eight all-outs, restricting Scotland to 12 raid points and four tackle points.
Malaysia Women kept their semifinal qualification hopes alive with a dominant 62-17 win over Singapore Women. Shamithra topped the scoring with 17 points, followed by Darsini with 12 and Bramakumari with six. Malaysia registered 37 raid points and five all-outs, while Singapore managed 14 raid points and three tackle points.
In the men’s competition, Bangladesh defeated Singapore 60-28. Md Rahman led Bangladesh with 12 points, while Md Hasibul Hossain contributed eight and Akash Md Julfiker added six. Bangladesh scored 39 raid points and inflicted three all-outs, with Sheikh Razu leading the defence with six tackle points. Singapore’s Aadit Senthilkumar was his team’s top scorer with 11 points, but Bangladesh maintained control through its superior attacking performance.
With India advancing to the semifinals, the hosts remain firmly in contention for the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship title.
