India Crush Sri Lanka 45-24 to Top Group A Unbeaten at Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship

India's men signed off the group stage of the first-ever Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in commanding style on Thursday night, beating Sri Lanka 45-24 at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad to finish top of Group A with a perfect record.

The match was billed as a straight shootout for first place. Both teams arrived having won all five of their previous games and were level on 10 points, with Sri Lanka actually holding the better score difference. That edge vanished quickly. India's 21-point margin handed Sri Lanka, who had looked the most dangerous side in the group, their first defeat of the tournament.

A clean sweep of the group

India finish with six wins from six and 12 points. Their run read like this: 46-26 against England, 44-30 against Uganda, 37-23 against Malaysia, 50-23 against Nigeria, 48-20 against Tanzania and now 45-24 against Sri Lanka. Across those six matches, the hosts scored 270 points and conceded 146, a score difference of +124.

Only Malaysia held India below 40 points, and no opponent finished within 14 points of them. For a squad led by Surjeet Singh, with Naveen Kumar as vice-captain, it had been a measured rather than spectacular campaign until Thursday, built on a defence that has rarely let teams settle.

Sri Lanka still go through as Group A runners-up with five wins from six, and they will be a serious threat in the knockouts. Before Thursday they had beaten England 50-22 and Nigeria 53-14, and on paper had looked sharper than India.

The semi-final field is set

Thursday's other results completed the men's last four. Kenya, the standout side of Group B, beat Australia 76-27 to finish with six straight wins. Bangladesh secured the final semi-final place with a 70-20 win over Scotland, which ended the slim hopes of Canada and Singapore. Canada beat Singapore 45-38 earlier in the evening, but it was not enough.

That leaves India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Bangladesh in the men's semi-finals, scheduled for 8 PM and 9 PM IST on Friday, October 30. The men's gold medal match follows on Saturday, October 31, at 9 PM IST.

Women chase gold too

India's women, who also went unbeaten through their group, face Sri Lanka in the women's semi-final at 6:45 PM IST on Friday. Kenya meet Uganda in the other semi-final at 6 PM, and the women's final is set for Saturday evening.

Why this tournament matters

This is the first time kabaddi has had a Commonwealth event of its own. Thirteen men's teams and ten women's teams have taken part, including newcomers from Africa, Europe and Oceania such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Scotland and Australia. Many scorelines have been lopsided, which is expected in a sport where South Asian sides still have a big head start, but Kenya's unbeaten run shows how quickly the game is growing elsewhere.

For India, anything short of two golds on home soil would be a disappointment. Thursday's performance suggests the men are peaking at the right time.

Matches are being broadcast on Star Sports and streamed on JioHotstar.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.