India beat Uganda 41-18 and Malaysia 37-23 at Commonwealth Kabaddi

India’s kabaddi teams completed a double at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship on Sunday, 25 October, with the women thrashing Uganda 41-18 and the men beating Malaysia 37-23. Both wins were built on all-out points, and both kept India’s run in the tournament going.

Captain Nidhi Sharma top-scored for the women with nine points, while Neeraj Narwal was the standout in the men’s game with 13 points, four of them bonus points.

Nidhi Sharma leads a 23-point rout of Uganda

India women never let Uganda settle, taking the contest by 23 points. Nidhi Sharma led the raiding with nine points, and she had strong support from Sakshi, who added eight, and Anu, who chipped in with seven.

India finished with 25 raid points, 11 tackle points and four all-out points. That attacking spread meant Uganda’s defenders rarely had a single target to focus on, and the pressure told in the form of two all-outs.

The defence was just as sharp. Ritu led the tackling with six tackle points, comfortably past the High 5 mark, and Jyoti added four more. Between them, the pair accounted for most of India’s work on the mat when Uganda came raiding.

Uganda’s best performer was Namataka Beatrice, who scored seven points. Nabwegamo Catherine added two tackle points. Uganda managed 13 raid points and five tackle points in all, but India’s defence and the two all-outs made the difference in a one-sided match.

Neeraj Narwal’s 13 points set up a 14-point win over Malaysia

The men’s match was effectively decided before the break. India raced to a 27-11 lead at half-time, and both of their all-outs came in that opening half, setting the tone for the result.

Neeraj Narwal was the star of the night. His 13 points included four bonus points, a sign of how freely he was able to work the baulk line against the Malaysian defence. Bharat added six raid points, Aditya Shinde contributed five and Naveen Kumar picked up three raid points.

Across the game, India collected 27 raid points, four tackle points and four all-out points, a total that leaned heavily on the raiders.

In defence, Deepak S led with two tackle points, while Pravesh Malik and Shubham Shinde chipped in with one each. It was a quieter night for the Indian defensive unit than for their counterparts in the women’s game, with the raiders doing most of the heavy lifting.

Malaysia won the second half but the gap was too big

Malaysia did show more fight after the break, winning the second half 12-10. With a 16-point half-time deficit to chase, though, the gap was always going to be too much to close.

Isaac Alton and Leong Suresh Kim Seng were Malaysia’s leading scorers, with six raid points apiece. Leong also added a tackle point. Malaysia finished with 18 raid points and four tackle points, matching India’s tackle tally, but the two first-half all-outs left them chasing the game for the entire second period.

For India, the second-half dip will be a minor talking point after such a dominant opening 20 minutes. The first half showed how quickly the men’s side can build a lead when the raiders are firing, with Narwal at the centre of it.

The two results continued India’s strong showing at the championship, with the women’s and men’s squads both producing convincing margins on the same day.