Puneri Paltan’s Interschool Kabaddi Tournament Receives Overwhelming Response

Pune: Puneri Paltan, one of the key teams in Pro Kabaddi League organized an Inter-School Kabaddi Tournament on 24th & 25th June at Maharashtra Mandal Badminton Hall, Gultekadi, Pune. Over 420 students took part in the tournament. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and enthusiasm as the students were playing on the mat for the first time. They also expressed their desire to participate in more such ‘on mat’ tournaments.

The winner of the tournament was Erin N. Nagarvala Boarding School for the boys’ category and Jnana Prabodhini High School in the girls’ category. The best raiders were Tejas Kalbhor (Modern High School) and Komal Awale (Renuka Swaroop Madhyamik Vidyalaya), the best defenders were Pratham Ingale (Dr. Erin N Nagarvala High School) and Runali Jadhav (Jnana Prabodhini High School) from the boys and girls category respectively.

Three Maharashtrian players of Puneri Paltan- Umesh Mhatre, Girish Ernak and Akshay Jadhav motivated the young players with their personal experiences and anecdotes. They spoke about their struggles which has helped them to grow into well-known personalities that they are today. The three star players awarded the winning teams with trophies and medals, encouraging and acknowledging the efforts these future stars of Kabaddi had showcased.

Kailash Kandpal, CEO, Insurekot Sports Pvt Ltd and Manager of Puneri Paltan said “We want to reinforce Kabaddi right from the grass root levels. Inter-school tournaments are the best way to do so because there is a lot of young and fresh talent waiting to be discovered. We want to keep this tradition going and aim to organise such tournaments every year.”
This initiative was much appreciated by the participating teams and their coaches. Coach of Sinhagad Springdale High School said that such events should be conducted more often, as it would help Kabaddi grow. He also added that organizing the tournament on mat was the most distinctive feature of this tournament. Since it was the first time majority of the students and the players played on mat, it helped them to understand the tactics, level of agility and footwork a player needs to put in on the mat.