Sabhai Gadhvi: Gujarat's first woman in India kabaddi squad eyes Commonwealth glory
Synopsis
A kabaddi player from a small Kutch village has become Gujarat's first woman to represent India at a Commonwealth championship — and she's already been named Best Defender. Sabhai Gadhvi's rise through Khel Mahakumbh, DLSS, and SAI's NCOE to the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 is a rare grassroots-to-global success story that India's sports development framework can point to with credibility.
Key Takeaways
Sabhai Gadhvi from Mota Bhadia village, Kutch is the first woman from Gujarat to be selected for the Indian women's kabaddi team .
She has been named Best Defender in one match at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 , held in Ahmedabad from 23–31 October 2026 .
Gadhvi topped the DLSS state examination in 2018 and progressed through SAG's COE scheme before joining SAI's NCOE in Gandhinagar in 2024 .
Her medal tally includes gold medals in the Under-17 Khel Mahakumbh, Under-19 SGFI, and state-level senior competitions.
The Indian women's team has reached the semi-finals of the championship, keeping a podium finish in play.
Sabhai Gadhvi, a kabaddi player from Mota Bhadia village in Kutch district, Gujarat, has made history as the first woman from the state to earn a berth in the Indian women's kabaddi team, which has advanced to the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 being held in Ahmedabad from 23 to 31 October 2026. Gadhvi has also been named Best Defender in one of the matches, underlining her impact at the tournament.
From a Village Playground to the International Stage
Gadhvi's sporting journey traces back to Mota Bhadia Primary School No. 2, where principal Mayur Joshi and teacher Haresh Pandya first recognised her potential and channelled it through competitions, including the state government's flagship Khel Mahakumbh. After completing primary schooling, she moved to Navjivan Vidyalaya in Morbi, training under coaches Vijaykumar Chaudhary and Narsinh Rabari.
Her early competitive record was already impressive: in 2016, her school team placed fourth at the state-level Khel Mahakumbh in Vadodara; the following year, they climbed to second place at the edition held in Bhavnagar.
State Systems That Identified and Backed Her
In 2018, Gadhvi appeared for the District Level Sports School (DLSS) examination conducted by the Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) and secured the first rank across the state. That result earned her a place in the DLSS scheme, under which she trained as a physical training (PT) player from 2018 to 2022.
Her consistent performance and medal haul at national-level competitions brought her under the Centre of Excellence (COE) scheme in 2022, and in 2024 she was selected for the National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Gandhinagar, where she continues to train.
A Medal Cabinet Built Across Age Groups
Gadhvi's honours span multiple categories and levels. She won a bronze medal in the Under-14 category and a gold medal in the Under-17 category at the Khel Mahakumbh, along with a gold medal in the Under-19 category of the School Games Federation of India (SGFI). She has also claimed gold medals at state-level sub-junior and senior competitions, and featured in the Indian training camp for the 20th Asian Games.
India's Semi-Final Run and What Comes Next
The Indian women's team has reached the semi-finals of the championship, with their next fixture still to be confirmed. The tournament, bringing together commonwealth nations, provides Gadhvi her most prominent stage yet. Officials involved in Gujarat's grassroots development programmes described her progress as a validation of the system: 'Sabhai Gadhvi's journey from the playground of Mota Bhadia to the global stage of Commonwealth kabaddi demonstrates the success of grassroots sports development initiatives such as DLSS. With proper guidance and unwavering hard work, the daughters of Gujarat can also reach for the skies.'
This comes amid a broader push by state and central sports bodies to surface talent from rural and semi-urban pockets — a model that, in Gadhvi's case, produced a national-level defender in under a decade of structured training. India's semi-final appearance keeps the possibility of a podium finish firmly alive.
Point of View
And Gujarat's isolation as a non-producer of women's kabaddi internationals until now is a data point administrators should sit with. If India wins at Ahmedabad, the political interest in replicating this pipeline will spike — the real test is whether that interest outlasts the tournament.
NationPress
29 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sabhai Gadhvi and why is she significant?
Sabhai Gadhvi is a kabaddi player from Mota Bhadia village in Kutch, Gujarat, and the first woman from the state to earn a place in the Indian women's kabaddi team. She has also been named Best Defender in one of the matches at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 in Ahmedabad.
What is the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026?
The Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 is an international kabaddi tournament being held in Ahmedabad from 23 to 31 October 2026, featuring women's and men's teams from commonwealth nations. India's women's team has advanced to the semi-finals of the event.
How did Sabhai Gadhvi develop as a kabaddi player?
Gadhvi's development began at a primary school in Mota Bhadia, progressed through the state's DLSS scheme after she ranked first in Gujarat in the 2018 SAG examination, and continued under the COE scheme from 2022 before she joined SAI's National Centre of Excellence in Gandhinagar in 2024.
What medals has Sabhai Gadhvi won before the Commonwealth Championship?
She has won gold medals in the Under-17 Khel Mahakumbh, the Under-19 SGFI category, and at state-level sub-junior and senior competitions, along with a bronze in the Under-14 Khel Mahakumbh. She also participated in the Indian training camp for the 20th Asian Games.
How far has India's women's kabaddi team progressed at the 2026 championship?
The Indian women's team has reached the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026, with their next match still to be scheduled. A win there would place them in the final.
