Kabaddi
Ahmedabad Hosts the Inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026
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Ahmedabad Hosts the Inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026
Thirteen nations, 23 squads and 62 matches over nine days at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, with the first Commonwealth champions to be crowned on 31 October.
23 squads. 23–31 October.
The Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 starts in Ahmedabad on Friday, 23 October, and runs until 31 October at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex. It is the first Commonwealth championship in the sport. Thirteen nations, 23 squads and more than 400 athletes will play 62 matches, and the winners of the men’s and women’s events will be the first Commonwealth kabaddi champions.
The Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 at a glance
| Dates | 23–31 October 2026 |
| Venue | Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Naranpura, Ahmedabad |
| Organiser | Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), with approval from the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) |
| Teams | 23 squads from 13 nations: 13 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams |
| Matches | 62: 39 men’s and 23 women’s |
| Semifinals | 30 October |
| Finals | 31 October |
| Watch | JioHotstar (live) and Star Sports (television) |
| Entry | Free for spectators, with tickets booked online through Thumpn |
| Status | A Commonwealth Sport Endorsed Event, with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, SAI, the Sports Authority of Gujarat and Gujarat Tourism named in the official branding |
The championship was formally launched at a curtain-raiser press conference in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, where the official jersey, anthem, logo, mascot and team captains were unveiled. The theme is “One Breath. One Raid. One Commonwealth.”
India’s squads for the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026
Surjeet Singh will captain India’s men, with Naveen Kumar as vice-captain. Nidhi Sharma will lead the women, with Ritu as vice-captain. Both squads have 14 players.
| Role | Players |
|---|---|
| Raiders | Sachin Tanwar, Naveen Kumar (vice-captain), Pankaj Mohite, Aditya Shinde, Shivam Patare |
| Defenders | Surjeet Singh (captain), Ajit Pawar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Shubham Shinde, Nitesh Kumar, Yogesh Dahiya, Deepak Sankar |
| All-rounders | Bharat Hooda, Neeraj Narwal |
| Role | Players |
|---|---|
| Raiders | Anu, Sakshi, Karthika Ramesh, Simran Kamboj, Nidhi Sharma (captain) |
| Defenders | Muskan Sharma, Sabhai Gadhvi, Priya Saini, Champa Thakur, Riya Kumari, Suman, Jyoti Malik, Ritu (vice-captain) |
| All-rounders | Renuka Chaudhary |
When India play in the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026
India’s men open against England at 8.30 pm IST on 23 October, after the women face Malaysia at 6.45 pm the same day. The men play six group matches and the women four, all in the evening. In the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 the men’s draw is split into two groups. India are in Group A with England, Uganda, Malaysia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Sri Lanka, and Group B has Australia, Scotland, Kenya, Singapore, Bangladesh and Canada. The top two in each group reach the semifinals on 30 October: the Group A winner plays the Group B runner-up, and the Group B winner plays the Group A runner-up.
India’s opening day
Women v Malaysia at 6.45 pm. Men v England at 8.30 pm. Both in Ahmedabad.
| Date | Men play | Women play |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 23 Oct | England | Malaysia |
| Sat 24 Oct | Uganda | Singapore |
| Sun 25 Oct | Malaysia | Uganda |
| Mon 26 Oct | Nigeria | Nigeria |
| Tue 27 Oct | Tanzania | — |
| Thu 29 Oct | Sri Lanka | — |
The men’s final is at 9 pm on 31 October and the women’s final at 7.30 pm.
The nations in the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026
| Group A | India, England, Uganda, Malaysia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Sri Lanka |
| Group B | Australia, Scotland, Kenya, Singapore, Bangladesh, Canada |
The 13 men’s teams are those two groups. The 10 women’s teams are the same list without Canada, Tanzania and Australia.
Why the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 matters
Ahmedabad will host the Commonwealth Games in 2030, and the organisers present this championship as a way to strengthen kabaddi’s case for a place in the Games and to show that the city can stage international events. A place on the 2030 programme is still the organisers’ aim rather than a confirmed outcome.
The AKFI general secretary, Jitendra Pran Singh Thakur, called it a proud moment for Indian kabaddi, and the IKF general secretary, Tejasvi Gehlot, described it as a step in widening the sport’s reach across the Commonwealth. For countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Canada, it is a rare chance to play India in a full tournament setting.
How to watch the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026
Matches will be streamed live on JioHotstar and shown on Star Sports. Spectators at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex do not pay, but they need to book a ticket online through Thumpn first.