Commonwealth Kabaddi: India Men Set Up Final Against Sri Lanka

India's men's kabaddi team has qualified for the final of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 after a dominant 56-27 victory over Bangladesh in the semifinal held at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad.

The result on Friday means India will take on Sri Lanka in the final on October 31. Sri Lanka had reached the decider by overcoming Kenya 28-24 in the other men's semifinal.

From the first whistle, India asserted its authority. Naveen Kumar and Neeraj Narwal handled the raiding duties, while Deepak S and Shubham Shinde strengthened the defense. Bangladesh's Dipayon Golder gave his side an early lead with a successful raid, but India soon took charge and produced its first all-out within five minutes.

Bharat Hooda and Shivam Patare then carried the raiding load and widened the gap. Deepak S remained a constant presence in defense. India's second all-out came with eight minutes left in the first half, and the team went to the break with a 28-8 lead.

Bangladesh had a difficult first half and could not win a single tackle point. Their only real threat came from raids by Dipayon Golder and Mohammad Rahman.

After the interval, India kept its momentum going. Strong raiding and organized defense pushed the lead to 38-16 with ten minutes remaining. Hooda struck again with another all-out four minutes from time, making it 49-20. India closed out the match 56-27.

Overall, India collected 37 raid points, 12 tackle points and six all-out points. Hooda was the leading scorer with 13 points, while Shivam Patare scored 11 and Neeraj Narwal added nine. Ajit Pawar made a vital contribution on defense with five tackle points from eight tackles.

India's women's team also advanced to its final, beating Sri Lanka 39-14 in its semifinal. The women's final will be against Uganda, which defeated Kenya 23-21 in a tense match that went down to the final minute.