Ahmedabad: India Men produced a commanding performance to defeat Bangladesh 56-27 in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad on Friday.
India will face Sri Lanka in the men’s final on October 31 after the latter edged Kenya 28-24 in a closely contested second semifinal.
In the women’s section, India were dominant in a 39-14 win over Sri Lanka Women in the semifinal and will meet Uganda Women, who edged Kenya Women 23-21 in a contest that went right down to the last minute.
In the men’s final, India asserted their dominance early, with Naveen Kumar and Neeraj Narwal leading the raiding effort while Deepak S and Shubham Shinde anchored the defence. Dipayon Golder opened Bangladesh’s account with a successful raid, but India quickly took control, inflicting their first All-Out within the opening five minutes.
Bharat Hooda and Shivam Patare took over the raiding duties as India extended their lead, while Deepak S continued to make an impact in defence. India inflicted a second All-Out with eight minutes remaining in the first half and went into the break with a commanding 28-8 lead. Bangladesh struggled to make inroads, failing to register a tackle point in the first half as Dipayon Golder and Md Rahman led their scoring efforts through raids.
India maintained their momentum after the restart, combining effective raiding with a disciplined defensive display to lead 38-16 with 10 minutes remaining. Bharat Hooda continued to trouble the Bangladesh defence and inflicted another All-Out with four minutes left, extending India’s advantage to 49-20. India eventually closed out a comprehensive 56-27 victory, registering 37 raid points, 12 tackle points and six All-Out points.
Bharat Hooda led India’s scoring with 13 points, while Shivam Patare contributed 11 and Neeraj Narwal added nine. Ajit Pawar also made a significant impact in defence, finishing with five tackle points from eight tackles as India maintained pressure on Bangladesh throughout the contest.
In the other semifinal, Sri Lanka held off a determined Kenya side to secure a 28-24 victory and book their place in the final against India. Milinda Chathuranga and Sabihan contributed six points each for Sri Lanka, while Viduranga added four points. Made Dwiki Sanjaya led Sri Lanka’s defensive effort with five tackle points. For Kenya, Helvic Wanjala top-scored with nine points, while Samuel Wafula contributed six.
In the women’s section, India thrashed Sri Lanka 39-14 to reach the final, having led 24-7 at half-time. Sakshi led India with 11 points, eight from raids and three from tackles, while captain Nidhi Sharma added 10 points from 12 raids, including two bonus points. Ritu anchored the defence with four tackle points, and Suman added three. India scored 21 raid points and 12 tackle points and inflicted three All-Outs.
Diluxshana top-scored for Sri Lanka with six points, including five bonus points, and Priyavarna produced a Super Tackle, but Sri Lanka managed just eight successful raids all match.
Speaking after the match, India captain Nidhi Sharma said, “I’m very happy; it feels really good to have reached the final. We have played Uganda before, but they will change their strategy because it’s the second time we’re facing them, so it will be a good match.”
(IANS)
