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SportsKabaddi

India's women crush Malaysia 73-13 and men beat England in Commonwealth Kabaddi openers

Both host sides made a dominant start in Ahmedabad on Friday night, with Naveen Kumar and Neeraj Narwal sharing 23 points in the men's win.

From the editorial desk · AhmedabadPublished
A kabaddi match (file photo)
A kabaddi match (file photo)Photo: Amir Hosseini / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Key points

  1. India's women beat Malaysia 73-13, winning the second half 43-2.
  2. The men beat England 46-26, with Naveen Kumar top-scoring on 12 points.
  3. Neither Indian side conceded an all-out; the men play Uganda on Saturday.

India made the kind of start expected of them at the first Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in Ahmedabad on Friday night. The women thrashed Malaysia 73-13, and the men beat England 46-26 under lights at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex.

The women’s match was over as a contest almost before it began. India led 20-3 early on and 30-11 at half-time, then won the second half 43-2, taking the last quarter 20-0. They inflicted six all-outs and conceded none, and finished with 40 raid points and 20 tackle points to Malaysia’s nine and two.

Sakshi led the way with 13 points, eight from raids and five from tackles, while captain Nidhi Sharma added eight raid points. Renuka made an impact off the bench, collecting seven points from six raids in the second half, and Karthika Ramesh picked up six tackle points. Malaysia’s captain Darsini scored three.

England make the men work

England gave Surjeet Singh’s side a sterner test. India raced to a 15-5 lead and were 23-9 up at half-time, but England won the third quarter 10-7, with Milan Kaushal picking up five points, to cut the gap to 30-19.

India responded by taking the final quarter 16-7. Naveen Kumar, the vice-captain, top-scored with 12 points, 11 of them from raids, and Neeraj Narwal added 11 raid points. India won the raid battle 32-23 and the tackles 8-3, and inflicted three all-outs without conceding one.

The men play Uganda on Saturday in their second match of the seven-team Group A, while the women face Singapore next. The top two in each group reach the semi-finals on 30 October, with both finals on 31 October.