Superstar raider Pardeep Narwal returned to action with a Super 10 and led Haryana to victory over Goa on the opening day of the 68th Senior National Kabaddi Championship on Tuesday.
Playing at the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar International Sports Stadium in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, captain Pardeep Narwal led from the front and scored 13 raid points as Haryana beat Goa 50-24. Defender Vishal contributed to the victory with a High 5.
Several Pro Kabaddi stars are playing in the championship, which is the first major kabaddi tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Ajay Thakur, provisionally suspended by the national anti-doping agency (NADA), did not turn up for his team Himachal Pradesh.
In other results, Maharashtra beat Manipur 49-30 with Rishank Devadiga and Pankaj Mohite scoring a Super 10 each while Shubham Shinde managed a six-point High 5. Siddharth Desai did not play.
Maninder Singh starred in Punjab’s 45-23 victory over Vidarbha by recording 16 raid points.
Meanwhile, Vijay of Chandigarh and Virendra Singh of Chhattisgarh each managed a 17-point Super 10 in their teams’ wins over Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir, respectively.
Delhi scored the most points in a match on the day with 65 while restricting Andhra to 34 in their victory. Home team Uttar Pradesh inflicted the biggest margin of defeat with a 50-6 win over Assam.
Thirteen matches were played on the opening day. The first three days of the tournament will play out group matches before going into the knockout phase. The 30 competing teams have been divided into eight groups.
Players competing in the Senior National Kabaddi Championship 2021 will be scouted for the Indian national kabaddi team.
Renowned coach Krishan Kumar Hooda, a Dronacharya Award winner, and former Indian raider and Arjuna awardee Ashok Shinde will be in the committee to select India probables.
Lead photo: Pro Kabaddi
