India thrash Tanzania 48-20 to reach Commonwealth Kabaddi semifinals

India’s men booked their place in the semifinals of the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship with a 48-20 win over Tanzania in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, 27 October. The hosts were dominant in every phase, inflicting six all-outs and winning the raid and tackle battles by the same two-to-one margin.

The result made it five wins from five group matches for India, who are now assured of finishing top of their group. Only one group fixture remains, against Sri Lanka on Thursday, 29 October.

An early all-out set the tone

India gave Tanzania no foothold. They moved 3-0 ahead in the early exchanges, and in the eighth minute they inflicted their first all-out to push the lead into double digits. By half-time the gap had grown to 25-8, and the second half was largely a matter of India keeping control.

Backed by a home crowd chanting “India, India”, the hosts kept piling on pressure and finished with six all-outs, a statistic that summed up how little room Tanzania were given to regroup.

Raiders doubled Tanzania’s output

India’s raiders were on the mark throughout. The hosts collected 30 raid points to Tanzania’s 15, and the speed of their movement and their footwork on the mat repeatedly stretched the Tanzanian defence.

Shinde headlined a defensive masterclass

The defence was just as decisive. India won the tackle points 10-5, with Shubham Shinde leading the way on five tackle points. Deepak S added three and Parvesh Bhainswal two.

Just as important as the individual numbers was the way India defended as a unit. Their coordinated tackling left Tanzania’s raiders with very little chance of picking up multi-point raids, which kept the visitors from mounting any sustained comeback.

Bangladesh and Canada win, Malaysia women cruise

Elsewhere on the fifth day of the competition, Bangladesh eased to a 60-28 victory over Singapore. Mijanur Rahman scored 12 points and Dipayon Golder 10, and Bangladesh held a 39-22 advantage in raid points and a 13-4 edge in tackle points.

Canada trounced Scotland 62-30 for their second win of the championship. Anmol Thakur scored 19 points and Manpreet Singh 15, and the Canadians outscored Scotland 37-18 in raid points and 15-9 in tackle points.

In the women’s competition, Malaysia outclassed Singapore 62-17. Shamitra scored 17 points and Darsini 12 for the winners, while Sindini Anandrajan led Singapore with 11. Kenya’s women also stayed unbeaten with a 61-16 win over Scotland in the opening match of the day, with Lavenda Odhiambo scoring 16 points to remain at the top of the scoring charts.

India close their group campaign against Sri Lanka on Thursday, 29 October, before turning their attention to the semifinals.