Bangladesh Women Lose 34-25 to Kenya in Ahmedabad Kabaddi, Men's Team Put on Alert

Bangladesh's women's kabaddi team has suffered a defeat at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in Ahmedabad, India. On Friday (23 October), the Bangladeshi women lost to Kenya by 34-25 points.

Bangladesh is in Group B of the women's competition. Alongside Kenya, the group also includes England, Sri Lanka and Scotland. The remaining group matches have therefore become even more important for Bangladesh.

Under the tournament format, the champions and runners-up of the two groups in both divisions will advance to the semi-finals. So despite the loss to Kenya, the door to the semi-finals remains open for the Bangladeshi women, provided they produce better results in the matches ahead.

The women's result has also put the men's team on alert, because Kenya is in Bangladesh's group in the men's division as well. The men's campaign begins tomorrow with a match against Kenya.

In the men's Group B, Bangladesh is joined by Australia, Canada, Singapore, Kenya and Scotland. To reach the semi-finals from such a strong group, Bangladesh will need to be on a winning run from the very start.

Bangladesh men's coach Abdul Jalil told the media that Kenya is improving in kabaddi. He said Bangladesh had faced plenty of competition from Kenya at an international tournament in Dhaka.

The coach added that the men's team is alert after seeing the women's result, but Bangladesh wants to begin tomorrow's match with a win.

Kabaddi is Bangladesh's national game, but in recent years new countries have been coming forward in the sport internationally. The rise of teams like Kenya points to that change, which Bangladesh has now encountered in Ahmedabad.

In their remaining matches, the women's team will have to fight against England, Sri Lanka and Scotland. Staying in the group's top two has made collecting points from those matches essential.

The men's team, meanwhile, starts its campaign against Kenya itself. Whether the men can use the women's defeat as a lesson and start with a win remains to be seen.

All in all, a tough fight awaits both Bangladeshi teams in Ahmedabad. Every group match has now become important in the semi-final equation.