Defending champions India kicked off their Kabaddi World Cup 2025 campaign with a dominant victory over Italy, securing a 64-22 win in Wolverhampton on Monday. The one-sided Group B match saw India rise to the top of the group with two points. In another Group B match, Scotland defeated Wales 63-43 to take second place.

India’s next match is scheduled against Scotland on Tuesday in Wolverhampton.

Both the Indian men’s and women’s teams are defending their titles in the Kabaddi World Cup 2025, which commenced on Monday in England. According to Olympics.com, the tournament will be held across four cities—Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall, and Wolverhampton—in the West Midlands region of the UK.

The men’s tournament features 10 teams divided into two groups. Group A includes Hungary, England, Poland, Germany, and the USA, while Group B consists of India, Italy, Scotland, Wales, and Hong Kong. After a round-robin stage, the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, starting from Friday, March 21.

In the women’s competition, six teams are divided into two groups. Group D includes India, Wales, and Poland, while Group E features Hong Kong, Hungary, and England. The Indian women’s team will start their campaign against Wales on Tuesday. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals, also starting from Friday.

The men’s and women’s semi-finals will be followed by third-place playoff matches, scheduled for Saturday and Friday, respectively.

This is the second Kabaddi World Cup organized by World Kabaddi. In the inaugural 2019 tournament in Malaysia, India secured both the men’s and women’s titles, defeating Iraq and Chinese Taipei, respectively.

(With ANI inputs)