First Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship Gets Underway in Ahmedabad

Key facts

• The inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship is being held in Ahmedabad from October 23 to 31, 2026, featuring 13 countries and more than 400 players across 62 matches.
• The tournament is organised by the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) with the approval of the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF); the men's competition has 39 matches and the women's edition has 23 matches.
• India's men's team is captained by Surjeet Singh with Naveen Kumar as vice-captain, while Nidhi Sharma leads the women's team with Ritu as vice-captain.
• The participating nations are India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Uganda, England, Scotland and Australia.
• The semifinals in both categories will be held on October 30, followed by the finals on October 31.
• Ahmedabad is set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030, and organisers hope the championship will make a case for kabaddi's inclusion in the Commonwealth Games.