From 14 to 13: Pakistan's Withdrawal Exposes the Real Weakness of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship

The Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad is gearing up to host the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship from 23 to 31 October 2026. A tournament featuring 14 nations has received a jolt that no organizer can compensate for. Pakistan has withdrawn its name. Now, instead of 14, 13 teams will take the field. This is not just news of one country pulling out. It is a question mark on the credibility of the entire event being billed as a 'major international tournament.'

Over the past few years, I have closely followed kabaddi's international calendar. One thing that stings the most is the scarcity of events. There are two major tournaments a year, and that's it. When a team withdraws, the impact is not limited to that one tournament; it affects that country's entire annual development calendar. Pakistan's decision deepens this gap. But the question is: has the tournament been weakened only by Pakistan's withdrawal, or was it already weak, and Pakistan's exit is merely the clearest proof of that weakness?

The truth is that the biggest problem for this tournament is not Pakistan, but the absence of Iran. In the world of kabaddi, the battle for number one and two is between India and Iran. Iran is not a Commonwealth nation. This means the championship, by its very design, cannot include the only team capable of beating India. This is not an organizational mistake but a limitation of the word 'Commonwealth.' If you name a tournament Commonwealth, Iran will inevitably be excluded. Now, with Iran out, Chinese Taipei not coming, and Pakistan withdrawing, what's left? India and then everyone else.

It's easy to view Pakistan's withdrawal solely through a political lens, but that's not the whole story. At this year's Asian Games, Pakistan failed to win any medal in kabaddi. This is a seismic shift for them. When I looked at the Asian Games results, a clear pattern emerged. Pakistan is struggling in Standard Style. Their domestic circuit is based on Circle Style, where attackers are allowed to retreat. But in Standard Style, a 30-second raid and continuous chanting of 'Kabaddi-Kabaddi' are mandatory. For players raised in Circle Style, this is a massive adjustment.

I have a spreadsheet of 600 do-or-die raids that I prepared during the 2026 lockdown. In it, I found that the conversion rate in do-or-die raids rose from 41% to 58%, while dubki attempts fell by a third. This data shows that success in Standard Style belongs to those who can raid in a disciplined, structured manner. Pakistan lacks such players. Their raiders may be masters at dodging one-on-one defenders, but when it comes to breaking a multi-defender system, they fail.

India's double gold is not an achievement but a structural outcome. At the Asian Games 2026, India won gold in both men's and women's categories. But Iran was present in those victories. Iran is not in the Commonwealth Championship. This means India's gold is a given, but the question is: will this victory make India stronger or weaker? I have seen this in cricket. When a team consistently plays weaker opponents, its edge dulls. The same will happen in kabaddi. India needs to be prepared to play against Iran, and if it wins the Commonwealth without being tested, it won't be as sharp for the bigger challenges ahead.

Another point no one has raised. The absence of Iran and Chinese Taipei suggests that Asian federations are not taking this event seriously. Chinese Taipei's women's team has won medals at the Asian Games. Their absence further weakens the women's category. The message is clear: the Commonwealth Championship has not yet attained the status that the Asian Games or the World Cup have.

Now look at it from the perspective I call the 'upside-down attention economy.' Women's kabaddi has four Asian Games golds but no franchise league. Men have the Pro Kabaddi League. This imbalance is proof of where kabaddi's money and media coverage are focused. If teams like Iran are not in the Commonwealth Championship, this tournament will remain nothing more than a practice ground for India.

There's another aspect to Pakistan's withdrawal: was this decision competitive or administrative? In my experience, last-minute team withdrawals are often related to visas, clearances, or funding rather than performance. If that's the case, it's even more concerning. It means administrative hurdles in international kabaddi are damaging the sport as much as competitive gaps.

I remember the day in 2026 when I first made a clip of Pardeep Narwal's 14 dubkis. At the time, I thought kabaddi's future was bright. Today, looking at 2026, it feels like international kabaddi is still stuck where it was in 2026. Iran learned to compete, but the rest of the world fell behind. And now, even Iran isn't coming to events like the Commonwealth.

Is winning this tournament easy for India? Absolutely. But will this victory make it stronger? Probably not. The real challenge is against Iran, and that challenge won't be found in the Commonwealth. When India next faces Iran, it should know when it last played a strong opponent. If the answer is 'a long time ago,' that's a concern.

Now, it remains to be seen which team India fields in this championship starting 23 October in Ahmedabad. Will it send its first-choice team or rest some players keeping the Pro Kabaddi League in mind? If India also sends an understrength team, the tournament will become even weaker.

The biggest lesson from this entire episode is that kabaddi needs not just matches but a proper system to grow internationally. One with rankings, qualification pathways, and equal opportunities for every team to play. Until that happens, tournaments will keep happening, but they won't have the value they should.

Pakistan's withdrawal is not just the story of 14 becoming 13. It's the story of a question every organizer should ask themselves: Is my tournament incomplete even without the team that is playing? If the answer is yes, then the tournament's real strength deserves scrutiny.

— Rahul Rao, Delhi