Representative image. DiplomatTesterMan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
This was the first edition of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship, so India hold both of its first titles. Both teams went through the event without a defeat, in a field of 13 men's and 10 women's teams.
India won both titles at the first Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in Ahmedabad on Saturday, 31 October 2026. The women beat Uganda 35-15 in the evening’s first final, and the men followed by beating Sri Lanka 54-20, according to match reports from the news agency ANI, the Times of India and Sportstar. Neither Indian team lost a game in the tournament.
The finals were played at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, with the women’s final scheduled for 7.30 pm and the men’s for 9 pm, according to the results page on the Pro Kabaddi League website. The men finished with eight wins from eight matches and the women with six from six.
India vs Sri Lanka: how the men won the kabaddi final 54-20
The Commonwealth Kabaddi men’s final was effectively settled before half-time. India were 15-8 up with 10 minutes of the first half left and had already inflicted an All-Out, which happens when every player on one side has been put out. They then outscored Sri Lanka 15-2 to go into the break at 30-10, ANI reported.
Raider Aditya Shinde was the top scorer with 10 raid points from 14 raids, four of them bonus points. Bharat Hooda scored all eight of his raid points in the second half and was not tackled in any of his seven raids. Pankaj Mohite added six points and vice-captain Naveen Kumar five, according to ANI’s report, which Sportstar’s figures match.
The defence did as much damage. Yogesh Dahiya made five tackles from five attempts, all before half-time, and Shubham Shinde, captain Surjeet Singh, Pravesh Malik and Deepak Sankar took two tackle points each. India scored 30 raid points and 14 tackle points, put Sri Lanka out four times and were never put out themselves.
Sri Lanka’s attack never got going. Their raiders made 7 successful raids out of 41, against India’s 24 out of 40, and the three raiders who had led them past Kenya in the semi-final managed five raid points between them from 31 raids, ANI reported. Their best player was defender Maduwantha, with six tackle points. After the match Shinde thanked the Ahmedabad crowd for its support and said the celebrations had already begun, according to ANI.
India women’s 35-15 win over Uganda in the Commonwealth Kabaddi final
Captain Nidhi Sharma’s side was 7-3 ahead with 10 minutes of the first half left and then pulled away to lead 22-7 at the break, the Times of India reported. RevSportz, in its own match report, said India won the toss and chose to defend first, and that the first All-Out took them to 17-5.
Raider Sakshi led the scoring with nine points from 10 raids, seven of them in the first half. Anu Sen added six and Nidhi Sharma five, while defenders Ritu Mitharwal and Suman Sahu took four tackle points each, according to the Times of India and Sportstar. Uganda did better after the interval, winning the second half’s raid points 7 to 6, but a second All-Out with under 10 minutes left all but settled it, the Times of India reported. Nakayongo Shirat scored 11 of Uganda’s 15 points.
Sakshi finished the kabaddi championship with 52 points in six matches, the Times of India said. She said international events like this one help the sport grow and give young players experience, and thanked AKFI, the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, for organising the championship.
India’s Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship run, match by match
The men’s path to the title is the clearer of the two in the reports read. The table below lists all eight of their results as ANI reported them, with the winning margin worked out by NewsPlainly.
| Stage | Opponent | Score | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | England | 46-26 | 20 |
| Group A | Uganda | 44-30 | 14 |
| Group A | Malaysia | 37-23 | 14 |
| Group A | Nigeria | 50-23 | 27 |
| Group A | Tanzania | 48-20 | 28 |
| Group A | Sri Lanka | 45-24 | 21 |
| Semi-final | Bangladesh | 56-27 | 29 |
| Final | Sri Lanka | 54-20 | 34 |
Adding the eight scores gives 380 points for India and 193 against, the same totals ANI reported, so the list is complete. That is an average winning margin of about 23 points a game (187 divided by 8), and the 34-point final was India’s biggest win of the event. Uganda’s 30 in the group stage was the most any team scored against them.
For the women, the reports read give fewer scores. They opened with a 73-13 win over Malaysia, the Times of India reported, beat Singapore, Uganda and Nigeria to top Group A, and then beat Sri Lanka 39-14 in the semi-final, according to the Pro Kabaddi results page and RevSportz. Uganda reached the final by edging Kenya 23-21.
How the first Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship was set up
According to the final group tables on the Pro Kabaddi site, 13 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams took part. The men’s Group A had seven teams, from India and Sri Lanka to Nigeria and England, and Group B six, with Kenya topping it ahead of Bangladesh. Each women’s group had five teams; India and Uganda went through from Group A, Kenya and Sri Lanka from Group B.
The other men’s semi-final was much closer than India’s in this kabaddi championship: Sri Lanka beat Kenya 28-24 to reach the final. Khel Now counted the final day as the ninth day of the event.
The reports read for this article did not say when or where a second Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship will be held.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026?
India won both titles in Ahmedabad on 31 October 2026. The men beat Sri Lanka 54-20 and the women beat Uganda 35-15.
Who was India's top scorer in the men's final?
Aditya Shinde, with 10 raid points from 14 raids, ANI reported. Bharat Hooda added eight and Yogesh Dahiya made five tackles.
Did India lose any match in the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship?
No. The men won all eight matches and the women all six, according to ANI and the Times of India.