Haryana win kabaddi titles

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15

Haryana, who had won gold medals in the boys’ U-17 and girls’ U-17 categories in the previous edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune last year, not only retained their medals but also managed to win the U-21 competitions during the Khelo India Games, at the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, in Guwahati.

In the girls’ U-17 final, Haryana defeated Tamil Nadu 25-20, while the boys’ team defeated Rajasthan 42-26. In the U-21 final, Haryana win the top honours for the first time ever by defeating defending champions Himachal Pradesh 35-32. Crediting a strong grassroots structure and constant growth of the sport in the state, Haryana’s U21 Boys coach Surender Singh said, “The thing about Haryana’s kabaddi is that there is no dearth of talent. Each of the 22 districts in the state, have at least 40 teams. It makes our job that much easier and that much tougher because we are spoilt for choice, but it is always a good thing to have a larger pool of players when you are the coach,” said Singh.

Punjab log win in kho-kho

Punjab defeated Assam 16-6 in the girls’ U-17 category in kho-kho during the Kehlo India Games. Meanwhile powerhouses Maharashtra and Gujarat began their campaign on a thunderous note. Having reached both the men’s and women’s finals at the Senior National Championships last month, Maharashtra continued their supremacy with a dominant 16-9 win against Tamil Nadu in boys’ U-21 category. Team Maharashtra scored all points in the first innings. In the girls’ U-17 event, Gujarat got some stiff resistance from Haryana with the latter even taking a 7-3 lead at the end of the first innings. Gujarat showed their might in the second innings with a wonderful comeback that ultimately helped them edge their spirited opponents 12-11.