Ahmednagar clinch 2nd edition of Yuva Kabaddi Series Inter District Youth League 2024

CHENNAI: Defending champions Ahmednagar District came up with yet another scintillating display of attacking kabaddi to clinch the 2nd edition of the Krantijyot Mahila Pratishthan Yuva Kabaddi Series Inter District Youth League 2024 with a comfortable 41-17 win over Palghar District at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi in Pune on Saturday.

Boasting of three players who have impressed in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10, Prafull Zaware, Aditya Shinde and Shivam Patare, Ahmednagar District ended their campaign with an unbeaten record as they won 17 of the 18 matches they played in the competition while one game was a tie.

The final between Ahmednagar and Palghar district provided a perfect end to the competition as the defending champions clashed against a team that forced its way to the summit clash against all odds.

The nail-biting final was witnessed by BC Ramesh, Arjuna Awardee and head coach of PKL Season 10 champions Puneri Paltan, Rupali Chakankar, President of Krantijyot Mahila Pratishthan and chairperson of Maharashtra Women’s Commission, Datta Kohinkar, Chairman, Vipassana Centre, Pune and Milind Bhoi, Founder of Bhoi Foundation.

The winning team took home a prize purse of Rs 20 lakh while the runners-up were awarded with Rs 10 lakh.

The high-octane Yuva Kabaddi Series is a premier all-year-round tournament that is known for hand-picking aspiring young kabaddi players and moulding them into future stars since its inception in 2022. In a significant milestone, the series recently celebrated the completion of its 1000th match within a span of just 23 months. The 2nd Maharashtra edition of the tournament was organised under the aegis of the Maharashtra State Kabaddi Association alongside Krantijyot Mahila Pratishthan.

A total of 16 teams, comprising over 320 under-23 players below 80 kg weight category, played a total of 124 matches over the last one month. All the teams had a perfect blend of experienced campaigners and young aspirants looking to follow the footsteps of their illustrious teammates with Shinde, who was part of PKL 10 title-winning Puneri Paltan squad, Patare, who was instrumental in taking Haryana Steelers to the final and Zaware of Telugu Titans representing Ahmednagar.

Zaware took home a cash prize of Rs 50,000 for being adjudged the Best Raider, having scored 207 points while Kolhapur’s Dadaso Pujari was the Best Defender of the tournament with 61 tackle points for a similar prize purse.

Individual Award Winners:

1. Best Raider of the Tournament: Prafull Zaware (207 points)

2. Best Defender of the Tournament: Dadaso Pujari (61 points)

3. Most Effective Raider: Abhiraj Pawar

4. Most Effective Defender: Sanket Khalate

5. Do Or Die Specialist: Jayesh Mahajan

6. Super Raid Specialist: Prafull Zaware

7. Super Tackle Specialist: Rupesh Salunkhe

8. Multi Point Raid Specialist: Raj Acharya