City girls bow to Punjab in kabaddi opener

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 1 

Panjab eves beat their Chandigarh counterparts 21-16 in the opening match of the 28th Senior National Circle Kabaddi Championship for Men and Women at Punjab University grounds here today. 

In the second match of the day, Maharashtra girls overcame Telangana 18-13 margin. 

In the men’s category, Punjab registered a 32-16 win over Vidharbha, while Kerala got the better of Uttar Pradesh 18-16.

Sixteen men’s teams and 10 girls’ teams from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidharbha, Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Pudducherry are competing in the three-day event, which is being organised by the Amateur Circle Kabaddi Federation of India (ACKFI) in association with Baba Gazi Dass Club, Ropar. 

Eight matches will be held on Sunday, the organisers said here today.

Earlier, the championship was inaugurated by Haryana Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar in presence of Haryana Education & Tourism Minister and ACKFI president Ram Bilas Sharma.

Rs 11 lakh for ACKFI

Dhankar lauded the role of ACKFI in organising such a big tournament to promote kabaddi and also announced a grant of Rs 11 lakh to the federation from his discretionary funds.

He also announced to give Rs 11,000 to each participating team.

Sportspersons are more popular than politicians and their popularity is reflected in the welcome accorded to them after winning medals in international competitions, felt Dhankar.

Sharma, meanwhile, hoped to organise a kabaddi championship on the pattern of Kabaddi World league in Punjab in near future with the help of the ACKFI.