Ahmedabad, Oct 24 (IANS) India’s men and women teams continued their winning runs at the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026, defeating Uganda 44-30 and Singapore 32-16 respectively on the second day of the competition at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The Indian men’s team relied on a disciplined defensive performance to overcome an improving Uganda side.
After Uganda narrowed the gap to 3-4 in the opening minutes, India took control through a combination of raid and tackle points before inflicting an all-out to establish a 13-4 lead. India maintained a two-digit advantage for the remainder of the match.
Shivam Patare led the scoring with eight points, while Naveen Kumar and Bharat contributed six points each.
Aditya Shinde and Pankaj Mohite added four points apiece. The Indian women’s team also registered a comfortable victory, beating Singapore 32-16. Sakshi led India’s scoring with six points, while Renuka, Anu and Suman contributed four points each. Captain Nidhi Sharma added three points.
Arthi Selvan was Singapore’s leading scorer with four points. In other matches on Saturday, Bangladesh defeated Canada 67-28 in the men’s competition, with Mijanur Rahman and Julfikar Akash scoring 10 points each.
Bangladesh dominated the raiding department, scoring 45 raid points against Canada’s 19, and inflicted five all-outs. Anand and Manpreet Singh scored 10 and eight points respectively for Canada.
Sri Lanka registered a comprehensive win over Malaysia, with Milinda Chathuranga scoring 16 points and Viduranga adding 11. Sri Lanka outscored Malaysia 35-21 in raid points and 9-5 in tackle points.
Singapore’s men defeated Scotland 50-28, securing their first victory of the tournament. Mohammed Aadil Mutalib scored 10 points, and Vishnuvarthan Deva added seven as Singapore built a 31-11 half-time lead.
They finished with a 28-11 advantage in raid points. In the women’s competition, Kenya edged Sri Lanka 23-20 in a closely contested match dominated by defensive efforts. Neither side managed an all-out.
Kenya scored 15 raid points against Sri Lanka’s 11, while Sri Lanka held a narrow 9-8 advantage in tackle points.
Scotland’s women defeated England 53-36, impressing their delegation with an attacking display. Kirstey Martin scored 25 points, while McPherson and Steele contributed six each.
Akhshay Ambeda led England’s scoring with 19 points. Scotland registered 38 raid points against England’s 26 and restricted their opponents to four tackle points.
India women will face Uganda at 6:45 p.m. on Sunday, while the men’s team will take on Malaysia at 8 p.m.
–IANS
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