Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship Begins in Ahmedabad: India Face Malaysia and England, Some Unspoken Echoes from the Notebook

From the fourth row of the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad — where I watched Manpreet Singh's running hand-touch drill in 2026 — the cant of the ground sounds a little different this time. When Nidhi Sharma's Indian women's team steps onto the mat against Malaysia at 6:45 PM on Friday, and Surjeet Singh's men take on England at 8:30 PM, it won't just be the opening of a tournament. It will be a new page in the notebook I filled over eleven weeks at the Gujarat Fortunegiants camp in 2026 — 41 to 47 thirty-metre repeat sprints, and a beat nobody else recorded.

Nine days, 23 teams from 13 nations, 62 matches — 39 men's and 23 women's. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India is organising it with approval from the International Kabaddi Federation. And all of this is happening in the city preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Kenya face Singapore in a men's Group B encounter at 11:00 AM. But what stops this tournament from being just another competition is that it is the inaugural edition — and an inaugural edition always arrives with a question: who is this for?

India's 14-member men's squad is captained by Surjeet Singh, with Naveen Kumar as vice-captain. Alongside them are Sachin Tanwar, Pankaj Mohite, Bharat Hooda, Shubham Shinde and Parvesh Bhainswal. This is the same Sachin Tanwar whose farm I drove to in August 2026, when every mat in the district was shut and he was keeping his ankle-hold timing alive against a neem tree. No match fee that season, no league stipend, a loan taken against the next harvest. I held the loan details for five months until he said yes. This tournament is another chance for that Sachin — but the question is whether it is the kind of chance that changes a life like his, or just another date added to the calendar.

On the women's side, Nidhi Sharma is captain, Ritu is vice-captain. The team also features Muskan Sharma, Riya Kumari, Simran Kamboj and Karthika Ramesh. India are in Group A with Singapore, Nigeria, Uganda and Malaysia. After Malaysia, they face Singapore on October 24, Uganda on October 25 and Nigeria on October 26. The men are in Group A with Nigeria, Malaysia, Uganda, England, Tanzania and Sri Lanka. After England, they face Uganda on October 24, Malaysia on October 25, Nigeria on October 26, Tanzania on October 27 and Sri Lanka on October 29. Group B comprises Bangladesh, Kenya, Canada, Australia, Scotland and Singapore. In the women's event, Group B has Bangladesh, Kenya, England, Scotland and Sri Lanka. The semifinals are on October 30, and both finals on October 31.

Now the thing my notebook says that the press release doesn't. The biggest fact about this championship is not how strong India are — it is that no team other than India has a domestic league at this level. The Pro Kabaddi League made Indian players professional, but the teams from the other 12 nations are still going through the semi-professional era India passed through before 2026. England's team has players who are clerks by day and take the mat in the evening. Kenya and Uganda's preparations are built on the same circle style that the league's vocabulary has pushed to the margins.

For me, this tournament is a case of two codes, two rhythms. The indoor cant of standard style, the referee's whistle, the squeak of shoes on the mat — all of that will be heard at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex. But the mud-court cadence of Punjab's circle style, where a raider holds his breath until the third empty raid, will be buried somewhere in this tournament. Watch Kenya, Uganda and Bangladesh play — you will see how natural their game is, because instead of chasing league trends they have kept their tradition alive. This tournament is not just a stage for them to win, but a stage to put their rhythm in front of the world.

But there is a contradiction here that I cannot hide from my notebook. At the very moment India is hosting the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship, women's kabaddi still has no franchise league. Four Asian Games golds — 2026, 2026, 2026, 2026 — and still no pro league. Players like Nidhi Sharma and Ritu can win the Commonwealth Championship, but they don't have the stage where their talent's economic value is set. This tournament doesn't fill that gap; it makes it clearer. I have written this before, and until a new document, a new number or a new refusal appears, I will keep repeating it — but this time there is a new fact: of the 23 teams, 10 are women's teams. The depth of women's kabaddi is no less than the men's. So why no league?

One more thing tied to the organisation of this tournament. Ahmedabad is preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, and this championship is a step in that direction. But what I wrote sitting in the Bengaluru bubble in December 2026 stays with me: the Olympic chase will decorate kabaddi, not grow it. The same applies to the Commonwealth Games. If kabaddi gets a place at the 2030 Commonwealth Games, it will be a big step — but only if the benefit reaches the countries still in the semi-professional era. Otherwise it will just become a way to increase India's medal count.

I am excited about this tournament, but also cautious. Excited because 23 teams from 13 nations will be under one roof, and I will get to hear the voices of players the camera usually doesn't show. Cautious because an inaugural edition always decides what the road ahead looks like. If this tournament remains only a display of India's dominance, it will fail its purpose. If it gives a stage to the teams still struggling, it could be a turning point in kabaddi's history.

When Nidhi Sharma steps onto the mat against Malaysia at 6:45 PM on Friday, I will be in the fourth row with my notebook open. I won't just write the score. I will write what the score doesn't tell — a raider's third empty raid, a corner's silence, a coach's voice drowned in the crowd. Because the kabaddi beat was already there. I only counted it out loud. And this time, across 62 matches, I will count again.

The next nine days will tell whether this championship is just an event or the start of kabaddi's global expansion. But one thing is certain — if India win the final on October 31, it will be proof of their strength. And if another team reaches the final, it will be proof of the sport's strength. My notebook is ready for both.