Shivneri Kabaddi: Panchganga beat Golfadevi 48-47 in Kumar category opener
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Panchganga Seva Mandal began the Kumar category of the Shivneri Kabaddi tournament with a win. In a close contest, Panchganga beat Golfadevi Seva Mandal 48-47, a margin of just one point. The match stayed on a knife-edge until the last moment, keeping the spectators on tenterhooks.
Shivansh Magar's long raids and Vedant Desai's strong tackling played a big part in Panchganga's win. Shivansh repeatedly entered the opposition court to pick up points, while Vedant kept the raiders in check with his holds.
The tournament is being organised by Shivneri Seva Mandal, Dadar, at the Bhavani Mata sports ground. This is the 58th year of the kabaddi festival. The Shivneri Kabaddi tournament marks the start of the kabaddi season in Mumbai every year. This time, matches will be held in four categories: special professional, first-division professional, Kumar and women. On the first day, the close Kumar category matches drew everyone's attention.
The tournament was inaugurated by Kishori Pednekar, former Mayor of Mumbai and corporator. Suresh Kadam, Vidhan Sabha pramukh and manager of Nikhil Logistic, and local corporators Urmila Panchal, Sunita Aire, Hardeepsingh Lali and Prashant Ghadigaonkar were present on the occasion. Nitin Pednekar, the mandal's chief secretary and sub-division chief, president Suyogi Naik, working president Vishnu Tandel, Devidas Kadam, Sachin Manjrekar, Kiran Morajkar, Sanjay Majrekar, branch chiefs Sameer Dalvi and Suresh Kale were among the dignitaries who attended.
Panchganga Seva Mandal had taken a one-point lead of 24-23 at half-time and held on to it until the end. Gudeti Moses and Jitendra Patil of Golfadevi Seva Mandal gave stiff resistance and tried a strong comeback in the second half, but in the closing moments the match tilted towards Panchganga. In the next round, Panchganga Seva Mandal will face Yash Krida Mandal, which received a walkover in the first round.
In the other Kumar category matches, Samarth Sports Club beat Sanskruti Pratishthan 53-38, a margin of 15 points. For Samarth, Viraj Kondhawale in raiding and Atharv Mohite in tackling played effectively. Manoj Gore and Sarthak Jadhav performed well for Sanskruti Pratishthan.
In another match, Gokul Krida Mandal beat Veer Santaji Krida Mandal 41-38, by three points. For Gokul, Smit Phatak and Divyansh Lakhan contributed in raiding, while Rishabh Hazare made a key contribution in tackling.
In the remaining matches, Bandya Maruti Sangh beat Navnath Krida Mandal 46-37 and Akanksha Krida Mandal beat Effders United 33-23. Siddhi Prabha Foundation recorded a big 55-25 win, by 30 points, over Ganesh Sports Club and booked a place in the next round.
