Panjab varsity women cagers end 11-year medal drought

Women’s basketball team of the Panjab University has claimed second position in the North Zone Inter-University Championship held at Kurukshetra University. The achievement marks a historic moment for Panjab University women’s basketball team, which ended an 11-year drought.

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In the first knockout match, PU defeated Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, (63-27) to enter the league stage of the tournament. In the league stage, the side recorded a 67-36 win over Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, and 84-60 win over Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

In the final, the Panjab University team went down 45-59 against Kurukshetra University to finish at second position.

The PU team also finished third in the All India Inter-University Championship held at the same venue from March 3 to 8. In league stage, the team defeated University of Calicut (71-61), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar (53-15) and ITM, Gwalior (94-62) to finish second in their pool.

In the quarterfinals, PU cagers faced a tough competition from MG University, Kottayam, before registering a 66-65 victory. However, the local team lost the semifinal against Kurukshetra University by nine points (75-66). In the third place match, Panjab University defeated the Amritsar University by a dominant score of 103-76.

Squad: Manmeet Kaur (Captain), Kanishka Dhir, Nadar Kaur Dhillon, Komalpreet Kaur, Aanchal and Nandani Saha (all from Government College of Girls, Ludhiana), Ridhi Sharma and Jasleen Kaur (Panjab University Campus), Pooja, Tannu and Ayushi (Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26) band Bhavika Dhir (GNC Narangwal), Saloni (coach) and Navjot (manager).