Kuala Lumpur Denied

Siva easily taking a bonus point against the Punjab side


Hosts Kuala Lumpur were denied the men’s title at the inaugural Inter City Kabaddi Championships by a resurgent Punjab side at the Police Depot yesterday.

Kuala Lumpur gave scant respect to the favourites and almost pulled off a stunning upset before losing 61-59 in the closely contested final.

Punjab made it a grand double by also taking the women’s title after an easy win over Colombo in the final.

The match between Kuala Lumpur and Punjab was dominated by strong performances from both sides. But it was KL that dictated the pace for much of the game, leading the first half 38-22 and by as much as seven points at one stage in the second half.

Skipper Siva Krishnan and raider Karthik Bandi played sterling roles for the Kuala Lumpur squad.

Siva picked up two individual awards for his efforts – Top Scorer and Best Player of the tournament.

Punjab’s Vijay Kumar was adjudged as the Best Raider.

Vijay and teammate Jagtat Singh turned out to be the bane for the Kuala Lumpur side in the second half.

Despite the defeat, the host proved beyond doubt that they were now on par with teams from the traditional powerhouses.

Colombo’s KS Meegastanne was given the Best Defence award.

Colombo with several internationals including KPT Thushara, KS Meegastanne, ALM Niswan, EAUK Alwis and KAP Nishantha had to contend for third spot ahead of New Delhi. Delhi conceded a walkover to Colombo in the playoff for third spot, with several of their players being injured.

In the women’s competition, Punjab’s strong defence gave them the edge over Colombo, featuring three players, who had helped Sri Lanka to the silver at the last South Asian Games - UMNWPJM Rathnayake, MMNTK Bandara and SPN Dilhani.

Punjab won the women’s final 24-11. Punjab’s Navneet K took the Best Player and Best Defence awards while another Punjab player Parveen K took the Top Scorer Award.

Colombo’s Lakmali was adjudged as the Best Raider.

Another Sri Lankan side, Triconmalee defeated Kuala Lumpur 87-14 for third place.