India won both titles at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in Ahmedabad on Saturday, beating Sri Lanka 54-20 in the men’s final and Uganda 35-15 in the women’s final. The double completed unbeaten campaigns for both sides at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex. The men’s team finished with eight wins from eight matches, while the women’s team finished with six wins from six matches in the inaugural edition of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship.
The men’s final came second on Saturday evening, after the women had already lifted their title. Aditya Shinde top-scored for India in the men’s final with a Super 10, scoring 10 raid points from 14 raids, including four bonus points. Bharat Hooda added eight points, and Yogesh Dahiya led the defence with a High 5, making five successful tackles from five attempts, all in the first half.
India scored 30 raid points and 14 tackle points in the men’s final of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship, inflicted four All-Outs, and did not concede one. They led 15-8 with 10 minutes of the first half remaining, after an early All-Out, and then outscored Sri Lanka 15-2 to lead 30-10 at half-time. A second All-Out came in the closing five minutes of the half. India won the second half 24-10, with two more All-Outs, the last in the final five minutes.
The men’s title capped a perfect run through the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship. India topped Group A with six wins, beating England 46-26, Uganda 44-30, Malaysia 37-23, Nigeria 50-23, Tanzania 48-20 and Sri Lanka 45-24. They then beat Bangladesh 56-27 in the semi-final before the 54-20 win in the final. India scored 380 points across the tournament and conceded 193, and no opponent scored more than 30 against them.
Shinde leads India in the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship final
Shinde’s Super 10 set the tone for the men’s final of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship. He raided with confidence from the start, picked up bonus points, and kept Sri Lanka’s defence under pressure. Hooda supported him well in attack, while Dahiya’s five tackles in the first half stopped Sri Lanka from building any rhythm.
Captain Surjeet Singh led a side that stayed disciplined through the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship final. India did not concede an All-Out at any stage, which is rare in a final played at this pace. Sri Lanka managed only 11 raid points and nine tackle points in the final, a measure of how little room India gave them in attack and defence.
After the match, Shinde thanked the crowd in Ahmedabad for their support. “With more and more tournaments being held, it is great for the people of Ahmedabad too, and we received so much support from them,” he said. “We hope everyone comes out to support us the same way in the competitions ahead. There will be a celebration, a really big one, and it is already going on here.”
Women complete the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship double
The women’s final earlier on Saturday had followed a similar pattern. India, led by captain Nidhi Sharma, beat Uganda 35-15 to become the first women’s champions of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship. Sakshi top-scored for India with nine raid points from 10 raids, including two bonus points. Anu added six raid points, and Nidhi added five, including three bonus points. Ritu and Suman anchored the defence with four tackle points each.
India led 7-3 with 10 minutes of the first half remaining, then outscored Uganda 15-4, including an All-Out, to lead 22-7 at half-time. Uganda edged the second half on raid points, 7-6, but India’s second All-Out, with less than 10 minutes to play, put the result beyond doubt. Sakshi finished the tournament with 52 points from six matches, making her India’s top scorer in the event.
India’s women had opened with a 73-13 win over Malaysia, then beat Singapore 32-16, Uganda 41-18 and Nigeria 38-10 to top Group A. They beat Sri Lanka 39-14 in the semi-final before the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship final win over Uganda. The men’s and women’s titles together gave India a clean sweep of the two titles at the nine-day event in Ahmedabad, which was organised by the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India with approval from the International Kabaddi Federation.