Khelo India Youth Games 2020 has hit the ground running in Guwahati, with as many as 20 sports being played until 22nd of January. Kabaddi, which began on January 9 at the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Sonapur, has a total of 32 teams competing for the grand prize in both Under-17 and Under-21 categories.

The sport is further bifurcated in Boys U-17, Girls U-17, Boys U-21, and Girls U-21 categories, and each category sees eight teams being drafted in two groups. The format sees each team playing three matches against their opponents in the group and the top two sides will qualify for the semi-finals.

Group Classification:

Under-17 Category:

Boys (Group A): Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Assam

Boys (Group B): Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar, and Karnataka

Girls (Group A): Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, and Kerala

Girls (Group B): Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam

Under-21 Category:

Boys (Group A): Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Assam

Boys (Group B): Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Telangana

Girls (Group A): Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Assam

Girls (Group B): Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka

Day 1 results:

U-17 Boys

The campaign for the U-17 boys saw favourites Haryana taking on Assam, and to everyone’s surprise, the former crushed to a disappointing 63-18 defeat. Rajasthan, on the other hand, got the better of Karnataka 44-29 in Group B. Bihar, meanwhile, squared off against Delhi and a close fought contest saw the former emerging victorious by 35-31. The second game of Group A had Maharashtra getting better of Chhattisgarh by 51-28.

U-17 Girls

Contrary to the boys’ team, the Haryana girls’ team got off to a flying start by defeating Kerala 61-24 in Group A. The second game from the group saw Tamil Nadu defeating Madhya Pradesh 34-32. The Group B encounter had Chhattisgarh beating Assam 30-17, while Delhi edged Bihar in the second Group B game by just three points.

U-21 Boys

Chandigarh squared off against Assam in the first game of Group A and emerged victorious by 54-33. Maharashtra, on the other hand, defeated Gujarat 50-42 in the other game of the group. The Group B had Telangana defeating Tamil Nadu 42-34, while Haryana defeated Uttar Pradesh 51-36.

U-21 Girls

The first match of Group A saw Himachal Pradesh getting better of Assam by 40-20, while Uttar Pradesh defeated Tamil Nadu 24-19. The Group B saw Haryana thrashing Karnataka by 51-18, while Chhattisgarh completed the day with a 44-28 win over Rajasthan.

Day 2 results:

U-17 Boys

The Day 2 of the event saw Haryana registering their first victory of the tournament as they defeated Maharashtra by an impressive margin of 44-16. In Group B, Rajasthan won their second game in a row, this time defeating Bihar by 40-36. Delhi, meanwhile, squared off the group by beating Karnataka 29-19.

U-17 Girls

The Haryana girls’ team continued their domination by defeating Bihar 65-25 in Group A. The second game of the group had no winner as Delhi and Kerala played out a 31-31 draw. The other group also had a draw, with Chhattisgarh finishing their game on level terms with Madhya Pradesh on 37-37. Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, defeated Assam by 22-18 in the second Group B game.

U-21 Boys

Maharashtra picked up from they had left on Day 1, as they defeated Assam 43-12 in the first game of Group A. The other match saw Chandigarh getting better of Gujarat 62-41. The Group B had Uttar Pradesh emerging victorious against Telangana by 32-25, while Haryana defeated Tamil Nadu 42-26.

U-21 Girls

Uttar Pradesh started off with a 34-21 win over Assam in Group A, while Himachal Pradesh got the better of Tamil Nadu by 30-19 in the other group game. The Group B of U-21 Girls’ category saw Haryana and Karnataka registering victories over Chhattisgarh (37-31) and Rajasthan (34-32) respectively.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @kheloindia