Commonwealth Kabaddi Championships 2026 — Indian women, men register convincing wins over Uganda, Malaysia

Captain Nidhi Sharma (right) led the charge with nine points in Indian women’s 41-18 win over Uganda in Ahmedabad on Sunday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

India’s women’s and men’s kabaddi teams continued their winning ways on Sunday at the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026, being held at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The women’s team defeated Uganda 41-18, while the men’s team beat Malaysia 37-23.

In the women’s match, India secured a 23-point win over Uganda, taking the contest 41-18. Captain Nidhi Sharma led the charge with nine points, while Sakshi and Anu contributed eight and seven points each respectively.

India collected 25 raid points, 11 tackle points and four all-out points in the contest. In defence, Ritu led the way with six tackle points, followed by Jyoti with four.

For Uganda, Namataka Beatrice was the top scorer with seven points, while Nabwegamo Catherine added two tackle points. Uganda managed 13 raid points and five tackle points, but India’s defence and two All-Outs made the difference.

Indian men collected 27 raid points, four tackle points and four all-out points in their victory over Malaysia. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

In the men’s match, India got past Malaysia 37-23 for a 14-point victory. Neeraj Narwal was the star of the night, collecting 13 points, including four bonus points. Bharat added six raid points, Aditya Shinde five and Naveen Kumar three raid points.

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India raced to a 27-11 lead by the break, and although Malaysia won the second half 12-10, the gap was always going to be too much to close. India collected 27 raid points, four tackle points and four all-out points.

In defence, Deepak S led with two tackle points, while Pravesh Malik and Shubham Shinde chipped in with one each. For Malaysia, Isaac Alton and Leong Suresh Kim Seng were the leading scorers with six raid points apiece, and Leong added a tackle point as well.

Malaysia finished with 18 raid points and four tackle points, but both of India’s All-Outs came in the opening half and set the tone for the result.

On Monday, both Indian teams will face Nigeria in their respective group-stage games.