DAY OF THE UNDERDOGS

It was the day of the underdogs, as the favoured teams were either stretched to the limit or were beaten by their lesser opponents at the Premier League Kabaddi in Puchong.

Tamillan Kabaddi were the first team to receive a rude shock in the men’s competition, when they were almost shocked by minnows Segar in the opening match.

The experienced Tamillans were lucky to escape with a 63-62 win over their gritty opponents.

The win jolted the side as they eased to a comfortable 55-35 win over league leaders Sri Devi Tigers.

The Tigers were not expected to get past the Tamillans, but after the way the latter played in their opening game, they were hoping for an upset.

But the Tamillans tightened up their game and played a much better game to deny the Tigers.

Tamillans, however, failed to top the table as expected and stay in second spot behind new leaders Sri Devi Dragons.

The Dragons beat Kg Pandan Lions 63-30 in the first game but made heavy weather in their second match against MIG Sentosa.

MIG Sentosa took the early initiative to put the pressure on the Dragons by racing to a three point lead but failed to keep up the good work.

The Dragons raiding were below par and they had to rely on their defensive work to gain the points.

The Dragons roared back to take the game 43-24.

It was a bad day for the Lions, who ended the day with two losses, as they were also upset 38-44 by Tamillan Juniors in their second match.

The Lions trailing by 15 points clawed their way back to a 38-38 score with just three minutes to go. But they lost their composure in the closing stages to allow Tamillan Juniors to run away with the win.

Damansara Kabaddi, who will be hosting the next leg of the PLK, picked up their first win of the season. They sent Kg Pandan Tigers to their third consecutive defeat with a 54-17 win.

In another match, darkhorses Selayang were not at their best but were good enough to dispose MIG Sentosa 54-17. MIG fielded their former international M. Mahendran but his entry was not enough to spur on the side against a better organised Selayang.

The women’s competition was equally interesting, especially the match between Damansara and Segar Shines.

Both teams were involved in an intense fight with Damansara being the early aggressors. Despite taking a ten point lead, Damansara saw their lead whittled down and were stunned by a solitary point at the end of the game. Segar Shines took the game 55-54.

In the other match, Segar Brights defeated Sri Devi Angels 83-43 to move up the points table.

For more information, please log on to the tournament website at http://plkabaddi.leaguerepublic.com

Tamillans to the fore?

Tamillan Kabaddi would be looking to bounce back from their semi-final defeat at the recent Rakan Muda Grasscourt Kabaddi Challenge by attempting to top the table at the Premier League Kabaddi (PLK) this weekend.

The Tamillans lost in the semi-finals of the Rakan Muda tournament last Sunday to upstarts Selayang at the Central Park Avenue, One Utama.

Any desire for a revenge would have to wait for the Tamillans as they are not scheduled to meet Selayang in the PLK until May 24th.

The Tamillans will have to play two matches this weekend at the Sri Devi Grounds in Puchong. They have an easy match against Segar and another against table toppers Sri Devi Tigers.

The match against Tamillans would be Sri Devi Tigers’ first real challenge in the competition. They defeated lowly Segar and Kg Pandan Tigers in their previous matches.

On paper, Tamillans hold the edge against both Segar and Sri Devi Tigers.

The Tamillans, Sri Devi Tigers and Sri Devi Dragons are the only unbeaten teams in the competiton.

League favourites and hosts Sri Devi Dragons will also have to play two matches this weekend. Unlike Tamillans, the Dragons have two tricky matches to overcome.

They play Kg Pandan Lions in their opening game and MIG Sentosa later in the evening.

Kg Pandan Lions are still smarting from their defeat to Selayang two weeks ago and will be hoping to roar back with a win over the Dragons.

As for MIG Sentosa, they will face the ever improving Selayang in the first match before squaring off against the Dragons.

In another match, Damansara and Kg Pandan Tigers are pitted against each other and would be hoping to pick up their fist win of the season.

In the women’s competition, Segar Brights have the opportunity to move on top of the table if they can beat Sri Devi Angels.

The Brights emerged champions at the Rakan Muda Grasscourt Kabaddi Challenge and would be hoping to repeat the form this Sunday.

Damansara, who were runners-up to the Brights at the Rakan Muda tournament, will play Segar Shines in the other match.

For more information please log on to the tournament website at http://plkabaddi.leaguerepublic.com



SCHEDULE
MEN
9.30am: Sri Devi Dragons vs Kg Pandan Lions
10.30am: Segar vs Tamillan Kabaddi
11.30am: Selayang vs MIG Sentosa
12.30pm: Kg Pandan Tigers vs Damansara
1.30pm: Tamilan Juniors vs Kg Pandan Lions
2.30pm: Sri Devi Tigers vs Tamillan Kabaddi
5.30pm: Sri Devi Dragons vs MIG Sentosa
WOMEN
3.30pm: Damansara vs Segar Shines
4.30pm Sri Devi Angels vs Segar Brights

Anti Climax

The men’s final of the Rakan Muda Grasscourt Challenge turned out to be an anti climax after the tournament showed so much promise early on.

Sri Devi Dragons eased to an easy 47-17 win over surprise package Selayang to lift their third title of the year. The Dragons had also won the City Day Kabaddi Championships and the Rakan Muda Kabaddi Challenge earlier this year.

The quarter-finals and the semi-final stages gave the spectators more to cheer about than the one-sided final.

The quarter-finals saw two keenly contested match that had everyone at the edge of their seats.

The Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn sprang the first surprise when they edged out Selangor’s top club Sivasangkari 19-17. In another close match, Selayang disposed of Negri Sembilan’s top club Bukit Pelandok by the razor thin score of 22-21.

The semi-finals was also an heated affair after Pasum Ponn forfeited their match while trailing 9-19. The team were unhappy with the decisions of the umpires and chose to concede a walkover.

In the other semi-finals, Selayang stunned second seeded Tamilan Kabaddi 32-9.

In the final Selayang set the early pace but their challenge fizzled out much to the disappointment of everyone as the Dragons began to use their experience to stifle their opponents’ challenge.

The Dragons’ K. Siva was adjudged at the Best Raider while Selayang’s Karunakaran and Thinesh Kumar were picked as the Best Defence and Best Player respectively.

The women’s competition, saw an out of sorts top seeds Sri Devi Princess being bundeled out in the first round by Segar Brights.

Segar Brights went on to thrash Damansara 57-17 for the title. Earlier in the semi-finals, Segar beat Seremban 37-19 while Damansara beat Sri Devi Angels 26-15.

Seremban took third place with a 21-18 win over the Angels.

Segar’s Kalaivani was picked as the Best Raider while her teammate Yobaneswari took both the Best Defence and Best Player Awards.

To view pictures from the tournament please log on to out Picasa website by clicking on to our link at the right of this page

TOUGHER CHALLENGE

Selangor’s Sivasangkari and Negri Sembilan’s Bukit Pelandok have thrown in their challenge in the Rakan Muda Grasscourt Kabaddi Challenge at the Central Park, Bandar Utama this Sunday (22nd March 2009).

Both teams are the undisputed top clubs in their respective states and their entry has made the tournament all the more interesting.

The tournament, organised by the Kuala Lumpur Kabaddi Association, is being held in conjunction with the Rakan Muda’s One Community, One Association campaign to be launched by the Sports Minister YB Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

A total of 16 teams have been entered for the men’s competition and eight for the women’s.

Sivasangkari have been drawn in the same half as the tournament’s top seeds Sri Devi Dragons. The Dragons beat their rivals in their last two meetings including the KL Open final last year.

Sivasangkari have a tough draw, having to play the unpredictable Tamillan Kabaddi B in the first round and against the Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn in the next round.

If they survive, they will have to come up against the Dragons in the semi-finals.

The Dragons won both the City Day Kabaddi Championships and the Rakan Muda Kabaddi Challenge earlier this year.

The Dragons, comprising of several Federal Territory state players, are also the leading contenders at the ongoing Premier League Kabaddi.

Bukit Pelandok will also have the going tough as they have been drawn against the experienced Star Banting in their opening match and against young upstarts Selayang in the next round.

They would have to get past second seeds Tamillan Kabaddi if they get past their early opponents.

Selayang are the darkhorses in the tournament, having stunned Kg Pandan Lions at the Premier League Kabaddi last week.

In the women’s competition, Sri Devi Princess are the top seeds ahead of Sri Manjari A. The Princess are expected to play Bukit Pelandok in the semi-finals while the Sri Manjari A are likely to meet Sri Devi Princess.

LIONS TAMED

Kampong Pandan Lions suffered a shock 37-55 defeat at the hands dark-horses Selayang in their second match at the Premier League Kabaddi championships today.

It was a bad day for the hosts as their second stringers Kampong Pandan Tigers also suffered a 37-87 defeat at the hands of Tamillan Kabaddi at their home turf in Kg Pandan.

The Lions, despite having a weight advantage, were unable to withstand the excellent defensive work from the young Selayang squad.

They trailed 17-29 in the first half and were never able to assert any clear advantage over Selayang.

The defeat comes as a bitter blow for the Lions, who were expecting to be among the forerunners in the league. The Lions had beaten Damansara Kabaddi in their opening match.

Damansara’s poor run in the competition continued when they suffered a second successive league defeat. They lost 31-35 to MIG Sentosa today.

Damansara had the opportunity to at least salvage a draw in the match.

If they had stopped the MIG Sentosa raider in the final seconds of the match, they would have earned a draw.

But in their eagerness to get the point, their defense gave away three points in the raid, allowing MIG Sentosa to walk away with their first win in the competition.

Leading the table after today’s matches are the Sri Devi Tigers. The second string team from the club, notched up an easy 95-38 point win over Segar to top the table ahead of Tamillan Kabaddi and their senior Sri Devi Dragons on points scored difference.

But the Tigers have yet to meet the strong contenders in the competition, and can expect to be fully tested in the coming weeks.

Sri Devi Dragons after a jittery start easily beat Tamillan Junior 76-29 for their second win in the competition.

In the women’s competition, Sri Devi Princess out themselves entrenched on the top of the table with an all-important 65-36 win over Sri Manjari.

The much improved Princess stunned Sri Manjari with the more solid defense and quick attacks.

In another match, Segar A, defeated teammated Segar B 92-38.
The Sri Devi Kabaddi Club will host the next round of the league competitions on March 29.

For more information please log on to our event website at http://plkabaddi.leaguerepublic.com

Invitation from KBS

This is the letter of invitation from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to teams to participate at the Rakan Muda Grasscourt Kabaddi Challenge.

The tournament is being conducted in conjunction of the launch of the One Community One Association programme. Sports Minister YB Datuk Ismal Sabri is expected to attend the programme.

For those who want a copy of the letter, please contact us.

Rakan Muda Grasscourt Challenge

The Kuala Lumpur Kabaddi Association is assisting the Rakan Muda to organise the Rakan Muda KAKL Grasscourt Kabaddi Challenge on Sunday March 22, 2009.

The knockout tournament would be played on grasscourt. Entry fees are RM 30 for the men and free for the women.

The organisers would provide lunch for all players and team officials.

Attached below are the rules and entry forms. Click on image to enlarge.

CONDOLENCES

The council of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to extend the deepest condolences to the family of Mr Krishnan or more popularly known as Jeevan Amiappan, who passed away yesterday.

Jeevan was a former assistant secretary of the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia and was a key figure in the initial development of the association from 2000 to 2004.

Get ready for another tournament

The Kuala Lumpur Kabaddi Association has just been requested to conduct another tournament by the Rakan Muda division of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The tournament is scheduled for Sunday March 22, 2009.

Competition would be run for both men and women divisions and preference would be given to school teams.

KAKL is still in the midst of finalising the details and would publish the full details of the event within the next few days.

Meanwhile, those who are interested can start preparing their teams for the tournament. Entry forms would be available for download from this site or you can get copies of the entry forms during the Premier League Kabaddi this Sunday at Kampong Pandan.

The heat is on

Sri Devi Princess defending in their Rakan Muda final against Segar



The heat is on early in the newly minted Premier League Kabaddi (PLK). After playing just one match each, teams are already wondering whether they have what it takes to be competitive in the league.

The PLK resumes this Sunday in Kg Pandan and the fixtures has already thrown in some interesting match-ups.

It would be a grudge match between Sri Manjari and Sri Devi Princess in the women’s competition.

Sri Devi Princess defeated Sri Manjari enroute to winning the Rakan Muda Kabaddi Challenge earlier this month.

But, that match was played on a modified rule of only seven minutes per half. The PLK match, however, would be played the full conditional 15 minutes per half, and fitness would be a crucial factor.

In the men’s competition, the clash between Kg Pandan Lions and Selayang is destined to be an intriguing affair.

Selayang, after their solid performance in pushing pre-tournament favourites Sri Devi Dragons all the way in their opening match, would well spring a surprise.

Kg Pandan Lions will have to rely on their more experienced players to break down the well-oiled Selayang defence.

The Lions are in the process of restructuring their team after two key players joined rivals Tamillan Kabaddi earlier this year and will need to beef up their teamwork to stop Selayang.

Damansara and MIG Sentosa, two regulars in the national club kabaddi scene, also have much to play for in their clash. Both teams lost their opening matches and badly need to win redeem themselves.

Like the Lions, the Dragons also need to improve on their performance, against the unpredictable Tamillan Juniors.

The Juniors have recruited several Indian expatriates, from the Pasum Ponn team, to strengthen their squad.

Pasum Ponn, are not playing in the league, but are considered the best of the Indian expatriate based teams in Malaysia.

For latest schedule and points standings, please visit our tournament website at http://plkabaddi.leaguerepublic.com

Selayang Impress

Selayang antis pinning down the Sri Devi Dragons raider

Selayang Kabaddi Club stole the limelight on the opening day of the Premier League Kabaddi at the Dataran Remaja in Bukit Jalil.

The young Selayang squad, were beaten 22-30 by favourites Sri Devi Dragons, but showed they would be a team to watch in the coming months.

Sri Devi Dragons, playing without two of their first choice players, were made to look ordinary by their lesser opponents for much of the first half.

Selayang’s defence working on overdrive and Sri Devi Dragons’ main raider K. Siva found himself unable to give his side any advantage.

It was Selayang that dictated the pace in the early stages but inexperience saw them giving away points allowing their rivals to take control of the game.

In another match, Kg Pandan Lions defeated Damansara Kabaddi Club 39-23.

Veterans Tamillan Kabaddi outplayed their younger rivals MIG Sentosa 33-51.

Leading the table after the first day of the league are Sri Devi Tigers who defeated Kg Pandan Tigers 68-46.

Earlier in the day, in the women’s league matches, Sri Devi Dragons defeated teammates Sri Devi Angels 89-46 while Sri Manjari defeated Damansara 45-27.

A total of ten teams are taking part in the men’s league and another six in the women’s league.

The next round of the league would take place on March 15 in Kampong Pandan, Kuala Lumpur.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, YB Datuk S.K. Devamany officially launched the league.

He commended the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur for their effort in organising the league, that would end on October 18.

“It is not an easy task and the association is doing a great job in the promotion and the development of the game in Malaysia,” he said.

For latest tables and results visit our tournament website and to view pictures from the Day One event visit our Picasa picture site