Men’s Kabaddi at 38th National Games, Day 1 updates: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan register big wins

Kabaddi at the 38th National Games kicked off in Haridwar, Uttarakhand on Wednesday, January 29.

As many as eight teams are competing in the men’s kabaddi event at the National Games 2025 which will run till February 2.

These eight participating teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each.

Pool A has Haryana, Services, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand while Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh are clubbed in Pool B.

As per the schedule, each team will play the other sides in their pool once in a single round-robin format. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals to be held on February 1. The winners of the two semi-finals will clash in the final on February 2.

All kabaddi matches at the 38th National Games will be played at the Yogasthali Khel Parisar, Roshnabad Stadium in Haridwar.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan beat Uttarakhand 48-35 in the opening match of the men’s kabaddi event on Wednesday. Featuring a relatively young squad with a few PKL stars like Sachin Tanwar, Jai Bhagwan and Jitender Yadav, Rajasthan bagged maximum points from their first game in Pool A.

In the second match on Day 1, the Arjun Deshwal-led Uttar Pradesh thrashed Karnataka 62-29 in their opening game in Pool B. Apart from Jaipur Pink Panthers captain Arjun Deshwal, Uttar Pradesh have several PKL stars in their squad including raider Vinay, right corner Sahul Kumar, all-rounder Nitin Panwar and talented Mohd Amaan for the ongoing National Games.

Defending champions Services began their campaign with a 41-36 win over Haryana in Pool A.

With a star-studded squad featuring Devank Dalal, Rahul Sethpal, Jaideep Dahiya, Ankit Jaglan, Bharat Hooda, Nitin Jaglan and Arjun Rathi, Services will be the favourites to retain the title.

Elsewhere, the Pawan Sehrawat-led Chandigarh defeated Maharashtra 62-50 in the final game of the men’s kabaddi event on Day 1.

Featuring Ayan Lohchab, Gaurav Khatri, Vishal Bharadwaj and Vishal Chahal, Chandigarh will be one of the title contenders for the men’s kabaddi event.

38th National Games, Men’s Kabaddi Results, Day 1

Match 1: Rajasthan beat Uttarakhand 48-35 (Pool A)

Match 2: Uttar Pradesh beat Karnataka 62-29 (Pool B)

Match 3: Services beat Haryana 41-36 (Pool A)

Match 4: Chandigarh beat Maharashtra 62-50 (Pool B)

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