Bangladesh men win kabaddi bronze, women crash out

The Bangladesh men's kabaddi team has secured a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in Gujarat, India, while the women's team has bowed out of the tournament empty-handed. The competition concludes on Saturday, with hosts India facing Sri Lanka in the men's final and taking on Uganda for the women's title.

The men's team saw their campaign end in the semi-finals following a heavy 56-27 defeat to a powerful Indian side. Their path to the final was ultimately derailed during the group stage by a narrow 32-31 loss to Kenya. That single-point defeat meant Bangladesh finished as group runners-up with eight points, forcing them to face tournament favourites India in the final four instead of an easier opponent. Kenya topped the group with 10 points.

Despite that crucial loss to Kenya, Bangladesh enjoyed a strong group stage, winning four of their five matches. They opened the tournament with a crushing 67-28 victory over Canada. After stumbling against the Kenyans, the team bounced back with three dominant wins in a row, thrashing Singapore 60-28, Australia 69-31, and Scotland 70-20 to book their semi-final spot.

In the women's division, Bangladesh were eliminated after finishing third in their group with a mixed record of two wins and two defeats. They suffered a tough start, losing their opening match 34-24. The team briefly recovered by outclassing Scotland 74-15 in their second game, but a 31-20 defeat to Sri Lanka quickly ended their hopes of advancing. They did, however, finish their campaign on a high note by overwhelming England with a massive 79-13 victory in their final match.