Pro Kabaddi ‘Super play-offs’ off to a rousing start

On paper, there was precious little to separate the teams who made it eliminators. Puneri Paltan with its in-form raiders in captain Deepak Hooda and the burly Rajesh Mondal finished second in Zone A. Its opponent in Eliminator One UP Yoddha claimed third spot in Zone B.

Puneri enjoyed a 1-0 head to-head record over its from Lucknow. The match comprised many intriguing sub-plots with the team from Pune led by the talismanic Deepak, who has established a reputation as a raider par excellence, slugging it out against his opposite number Nitin Tomar. 

Puneri also had in its ranks two ace defenders in Sandeep Narwal and Tamil Nadu’s 42-year-old Dharmaraj Cheralathan. The teams looked evenly matched in all facets, but UP Yoddha was off the blocks in a trice inflicting an all-out as early as in the fifth minute. 

All its different arms were working like clockwork and it surged to an early lead of 10-5. A place was in the Eliminator three was at stake and it seemed that Puneri was bogged down by its own lofty expectations at the crunch moments. UP Yoddha seized the initiative and never let go of its hold.