Pawan Sehrawat leads Railways to Kabaddi Sr Nationals win

Indian Railways continued its run of dominance with both men's and women's teams securing gold in the Senior National Kabaddi Championship for the second consecutive year.

Railways skipper Pawan Sehrawat was in good form as he powered his side to 29-27 win over Services in the 67th edition of the Championship in Jaipur on Friday.

READ: Anup Kumar: Senior Nationals among the most important kabaddi competitions

It was a closely fought game with Services leading 17-11 at half-time, giving Sehrawat ad Co. a scare. With the raiders struggling to fire, the defense rose to the occasion for Railways. Ravinder Pahal, Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Sunil Kumar scored four registered four tackle points amongst themselves to resume proceedings in the second half, leaving Services with just two men on the mat. Services' Naveen Kumar and Sehrawat matched each other point-by-point, but a calm approach from Railways ensured it finished with a win.

Naveen and Sehwarat claimed eight points each for their respective sides. Incidentally, the two captains - Sehrawat and Rohit Kumar play in the Pro Kabaddi League for the same side - Bengaluru Bulls and are great friends off the mat.

The defending champion took on Rajasthan in the semifinal, beating the latter 46-23. Sehrawat scored 14 raid points to top score for the Railways. The second semifinal featured Uttar Pradesh and and in-form Services, a game the latter won comfortably with a score of 49-31. Nitin Tomar amassed 13 raid points while Sandeep's tally of six tackle points helped the side reach the final.

“We weren’t taking too much pressure upon ourselves. We decided that we’ll be playing our own game and try to win doing so. We did face a few problems as all three raiders were being tackled but that didn’t affect our team too much as the defence was playing well. Throughout the tournament both the raiders and defenders complimented each other well and that is why I believe we have emerged victorious," Sehrawat said after the summit clash.

 

With 14 points, Sonali Shingate (front) starred for the defending champion   -  Special arrangement

Indian Railways beat Himachal Pradesh 40-34 to secure its second consecutive gold in the Senior Nationals on Friday. With 14 points, Sonali Shingate starred for the defending champion while Nidhi Sharma managed 12 points for HP. Railways ended the first half with a one-point lead but Shingate swung things in favour of the holder to secure an easy win in the end.