The 69th Senior National Men’s Kabaddi Championship kicked off in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana. Big kabaddi names like Pardeep Narwal (Haryana), Pawan Sehrawat (Indian Railways), Naveen Kumar (Services) and Aslam Inamdar (Maharashtra) are turning out for their respective states and employers in the 4-day kabaddi extravaganza from 21st July to 24th July. Haryana squared off with BSNL in the opening match of the 69th Senior National Men’s Kabaddi Championship.
Pawan Sehrawat will look to lead Indian Railways to their fourth-consecutive title alongside top kabaddi stars like Vikash Kandola, Nitesh Kumar and Ravinder Pahal. On the other hand, last edition’s silver medalists, Services, is led by the likes of Naveen Kumar, Surjeet Singh and Arjun Deshwal.
A total of 31 teams across India are competing in the nation’s premier inter-state competition this year. They have been classified into 8 pools, and in every pool, each team will play one match against each opposition of the same group. The winner and runner-up from each group will then qualify for the knockout stages.
Mohit Goyat led the offence for Haryana as they thumped BSNL to clinch the inaugural game 58-5 and took lead in Pool F. Defending champions Indian Railways sealed a 51-19 victory over Odisha, courtesy of Rohit Gulia’s 10-point effort.
Deepak Hooda’s Rajasthan announced their arrival in style, winning 60-31 against Vidarbha, while Assam was no match to Services as the last year’s finalists dominated the game 55-17.
Riding on Kunal Mehta’s 11 touch points, Himachal Pradesh defeated Jammu & Kashmir 46-23. An all-round show by Maharashtra saw them comfortably edge past Tripura 69-20.
With 51-50, Chandigarh narrowly triumphed over Punjab in a neck and neck contest. Uttar Pradesh cruised past Madhya Pradesh with a brilliant 63-40 victory.
With a 48-29 win, Goa hands Vidarbha its second loss of the day. The day ended with Delhi registering a 24-11 win over Assam to secure crucial points on the table.
Source By – The Times of India
