India women beat Nigeria 38-10 to reach Commonwealth Kabaddi semifinals

India’s women booked their place in the semifinals of the inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship with a 38-10 thrashing of Nigeria at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad on Monday, 26 October. It was their fourth win of the championship, and the men’s side completed a double over the same opponents later in the day with a 50-23 victory, also their fourth win of the tournament.

The women’s margin told the story of a one-sided contest. India were in control from the opening minutes, went into the break 24-6 up and added the remaining 14 points in the second half while conceding very little.

Anu’s raiding left Nigeria with nowhere to hide

Anu was the standout performer, collecting 11 raid points from 17 raids. Sakshi supported her with four raid points, and captain Nidhi Sharma added a couple more as India’s attack kept the scoreboard ticking over.

The defence was just as efficient. Sabhai Gadhavi led the way with three tackle points, while Priya and Ritu took two each, keeping Nigeria’s raiders quiet for long stretches.

For Nigeria, Robert Moses was the lone consistent threat with six raid points, and Bassey Edet added two. Dennis Udeme claimed Nigeria’s only tackle point of the match, a figure that reflected how little resistance the Indian raiders met for most of the contest.

Men raced clear before Nigeria hit back in the second half

The men’s game followed a similar early pattern. India raced to a 25-7 lead at the break and finished ahead on both raid points (31-21) and tackle points (7-2).

Sachin Tanwar led the raiding with 12 points, and Aditya Shinde was close behind with 11 raid points. Pankaj Mohite contributed eight raid points and two tackle points, while Surjeet Narwal topped the defensive charts with four tackle points.

Nigeria’s men showed more fight after the interval, scoring 16 points in the second half, but India’s lead was never in danger. Edem Wisdom Ita led the African side with eight raid points, Ekpe Victory Emmanuel picked up six points (five raid, one tackle) and Izu Prince Udah added five raid points.

The two wins came a day after both Indian sides had registered convincing victories over Uganda and Malaysia, keeping India’s men and women unbeaten in the competition.

Elsewhere on Monday in Ahmedabad

Singapore produced an attacking display to beat Australia 59-32, their second successive win. Sriraam Raja scored 15 points and Aadit Senthilkumar eight. Reuben William kept Australia in the contest with 11 points, seven of them before half-time, but Singapore tightened their defence after the break, using well-timed dashes to contain him. The defeat was Australia’s third in a row, leaving them winless.

Malaysia, India’s opponents earlier in the week, ended a three-match losing streak with a 43-26 win over Tanzania in a must-win game. Isaac Alton Andrew scored 14 points from 18 raids, while Tanzania’s Juma Sultani continued his strong run with 14 points of his own.

Uganda bounced back from defeats to India and Sri Lanka by beating England 47-22, with Douglas Mulalira scoring 11 points. In the women’s division, Uganda beat Malaysia 35-23. Nakayongo Shirat led the attack with 18 points, and Darsini Singh was Malaysia’s best performer with 10.

What comes next

India’s men face Tanzania on Tuesday, 27 October. The women will meet the second-placed team from Group B in the semifinals on Friday, 30 October.