Ahmedabad hosts first Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship, with CWG 2030 inclusion in sight
India’s men’s team will be captained by Surjeet Singh, with Naveen Kumar as vice-captain. Nidhi Sharma will lead the women’s team, with Ritu serving as vice-captain. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
India’s men’s team will be captained by Surjeet Singh, with Naveen Kumar as vice-captain. Nidhi Sharma will lead the women’s team, with Ritu serving as vice-captain. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship will be held in Ahmedabad from October 23-31, bringing together 13 countries for nine days of high-octane kabaddi action.
Organised by the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), with the approval of the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), the tournament will see more than 400 players spar across 62 matches. The men’s competition will feature 39 games while the women’s edition will feature 23 games.
The championship was formally unveiled at a curtain-raiser press conference on Wednesday, where the official jersey, team captains, anthem, logo and mascot were revealed.
India’s men’s team will be captained by Surjeet Singh, with Naveen Kumar as vice-captain. Nidhi Sharma will lead the women’s team, with Ritu serving as vice-captain.
The participating nations are India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Uganda, England, Scotland and Australia.
The semifinals in both categories will take place on October 30, followed by the finals on October 31.
The tournament has the overarching ambition of breaking into the Olympic roster in mind as it seeks to push the popularity of the sport to fresh markets. The organisers hope this tournament will make a case for the sport’s inclusion in the Commonwealth Games.
With Ahmedabad set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030, the tournament also offers an opportunity to showcase the city’s capacity to host international sporting events and introduce kabaddi to a wider global audience.
Tejasvi Gehlot, General Secretary, International Kabaddi Federation, said, “The inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship marks an important step in expanding kabaddi’s international presence. Bringing national teams from across the Commonwealth together will give athletes a new platform to showcase their abilities and introduce the sport to a wider global audience.”
Published on Oct 21, 2026
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