Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], October 23 (ANI): India made a winning start to their Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship campaigns on Friday, with the women registering a commanding 73-13 victory over Malaysia before the men defeated England 46-26 at the Veer Savarkar Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Indian women dominated from the outset, racing to a 20-3 lead, before extending their advantage to 30-11 at half-time. Led by captain Nidhi Sharma, who scored eight raid points, India controlled the contest in both raiding and tackling, according to a release.
They finished with 40 raid points and 20 tackle points, compared to Malaysia’s nine raid points and two tackle points, while inflicting six All-Outs without conceding one.
Sakshi led the scoring with 13 points, including eight raid points and five tackle points, while Renuka made an impressive contribution off the bench, scoring nine raid points from nine raids. Anu added six points, while Karthika Ramesh and Jyoti contributed six and four tackle points, respectively. Malaysia captain Darsini led her side with three raid points.
India stepped up their dominance after the break, winning the second half 43-2, with Renuka scoring seven points from six raids, before completing the rout with a 20-0 in the final quarter.
India’s men followed with a convincing 46-26 win over England, with Naveen Kumar and Neeraj Narwal leading the charge. Captain Surjeet Singh’s side won the raid battle 32-23 and the tackle battle 8-3, while inflicting three All-Outs without conceding one.
Naveen finished as India’s leading scorer with 12 points, including 11 raid points and one tackle point, while Neeraj Narwal contributed 11 raid points.
Pankaj Mohite added four points and Sachin three, while Nitesh and Deepak S contributed three and two tackle points, respectively. India also registered 24 touch points, significantly more than England’s nine.
India established control early, taking a 15-5 lead, and extending it to 23-9 at half-time. The hosts scored 14 raid points and five tackle points in the opening half, inflicting two All-Outs to build a comfortable advantage.
England mounted a fightback, winning it 10-7 to reduce the deficit to 30-19. Milan Kaushal scored five points in the period, while Nayan Yuvraj Dabhi and Ahurajan Ragunathan also contributed to England’s efforts. However, India responded strongly in the final quarter, winning it 16-7 to seal the victory. Neeraj Narwal scored six points from four successful raids, Naveen added four points from two raids, and Nitesh contributed two tackle points as India secured their third All-Out of the match. (ANI)
India men's, women's teams begin Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship with commanding wins
