Maharashtra’s jinx continues

Maharashtra women’s final jinx continued as they lost to defending champions Indian Railways 25-33 in the summit clash of 59th Super National Kabaddi Championships on Sunday.

Railways, who were in an inspiring form throughout the tournament, continued to dominate as they retained their crown for the 27th consecutive time, with Maharashtra being at the received end on 26 occasions.

The match, being played at the Bharatiya Kreeda Mandir, Wadala, was evenly poised with the scores tied at 10-10 at one stage.

Railways took a six point lead at half time (17-11). Mamta Pujari and Tejaswini Bai led the assault for the Railways and didn’t give the hosts any chance of a comeback. Maharashtra kept scoring at regular intervals but failed to overtake their opponents. Earlier in their semifinals, Railways registered a comfortable 36-29 win over Haryana while Maharashtra edged past Himachal Pradesh 25-19.

Railways, in fact, are in line for a double crown as their men’s team too reached the final after comprehensively beating Delhi in their semifinal encounter. However, Maharashtra were knocked out by Haryana side in their last-four encounter.

Maharashtra began confidently, going 5-0 up in no time, Haryana clawed their way back into the match slowly. Nitin Madan did the star turn for Haryana, scoring points at crucial stages for his side and keeping the opposition raiders at bay. There was no such trouble for Railways, though, who won 23-15.

Results
Women’s final: Railways bt Maharashtra 33-25
Men’s semifinal: Railways bt Delhi 23-15; Haryana bt Maharashtra 30-21