Gwalior: After 17 days of relentless panja action, Kiraak Hyderabad claimed the title in Season 2 of the Pro Panja League, emerging champions by beating Rohtak Rowdies 30-18 in the summit clash here on Thursday.
The winning team has also won a reward of INR 20 lakh on behalf of Pro Panja League. Nirmal Devi of Rohtak Roadies was awarded the ‘Player of the Day’ award. Satnam Singh of Kiraak Hyderabad was announced as the ‘Player of the Tournament’ while Stewe Thomas won the ‘Badshaho ka Badshah’ title.
Kiraak Hyderabad led the whole tournament in terms of points and on the final day lived up to their reputation and sealed a well-deserved and dominant victory. The runners-up from last season, who missed out on the championship by just one point, lifted the trophy this time and etched their name in history.
Stewe Thomas of Kiraak broke the Pro Panja League record by pinning Deepankhor Mech in just 0.09 seconds, breaking the previous record of 0.10 seconds set by Sachin Goyal.
Present during the event were the co-founders of Pro Panja League, Parvinn Dabass and Preeti Jhangiani. Also in attendance were Organising Committee Chairman, Prabal Pratap Singh Tomar, Associate Vice President of Hockey India, Devendra Pratap Singh Tomar, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, Member of the International Olympic Committee, professional wrestler Saurav Gurjar, and former kabaddi player Rahul Chaudhari. Olympic medallist and Former boxer Vijender Singh was present, cheering for Rohtak Rowdies as team ambassador.
In the final, both teams played a total of 10 matches, four in the Undercard and six in the Main Card, sending one player in every category seen in the league so far to fight for the coveted crown.
The Undercard was all Kiraak Hyderabad as they enjoyed a clean sweep against Rohtak Rowdies to begin the contest. Aviliye Zuyie set the tone with a commanding 2-0 victory over Arshdeep Singh in the 90kg bout. Naveen MV doubled the lead, overpowering Nikhil Singh 2-0 in the 60kg category, before Rachna Jatav extended the advantage and her winning streak with another clean 2-0 win against Karabi Sonowal in the 55kg contest. Rowdies’ Billa Tajamul fought hard to keep his side alive, but the experienced Captain Asker Ali claimed the 80kg clash 2-0 to place his team in a comfortable position ahead of the Main Card matches.
In the Main Card, world champion Srinivas BV in the Specially-Abled Section claimed the opening points for Rohtak Rowdies as he defeated Chandan Kumar Behera of Kiraak Hyderabad 5-0. Nirmal Devi built on the momentum for Rohtak Rowdies as she activated the challenger round and claimed a flawless 10-0 triumph against Jincy Jose in the 65+kg category.
The 18-year-old Aabhas Rana shifted the tide back towards Kiraak Hyderabad in the 100+kg division, defeating Amit Chaudhary 5-0 in a gripping contest. Madhura KN of Kiraak Hyderabad outclassed Ribasuk Lyngdoh 5-0 in the 65kg bout. Madhura asserted her dominance with two flashpins in the first two rounds. Ribasuk tried to hold her opponent in the third round but couldn’t stop her opponent, giving away crucial points to Kiraak Hyderabad.
With the trophy on the line, Hyderabad’s Stewe Thomas delivered his best performance of the season, winning against Deepankhor Mech 10-0 in the 70kg clash. Stewe won the challenger round in style, pinning his opponent in just 0.09 seconds and claiming the title for Kiraak Hyderabad with one match remaining. Despite losing out on the title, Dara Singh of Rohtak Rowdies didn’t lose his spirit and defeated Jagadish Baruah of Kiraak Hyderabad 3-2 in the 100kg category to end the night.
The high-octane, adrenaline-fueled season reached its end on a glorious note, as Kiraak Hyderabad capped off their dominant campaign by lifting the coveted Pro Panja League Season 2 trophy.
(IANS)
