Mahindra survives scare; BPCL, MSP have it easy

Mumbai, Dec 24 (UNI) Mahindra survived a scare before beating Raigad Police 36-26 in a league tie in the Matoshree Chashak State Level Kabaddi Tournament, organised by the Shiv Sena Worli Assembly Unit, here today.

The jeepmen had lost main raider Praveen Newale to injury and the policemen had inched close 11-9 at half time and 26-20 with about ten minutes left. But substitute Nitin Ghule, another member of the victorious State team at the Nationals held recently, turned the tide slowly preventing a wipe out and then garnering three bonus points in three successive raids to see the jeepmen thorough. Nitin was well supported by their another raider, Sachin Patil, who showed good footwork and excellent eye and body co-ordination while raiding precisely, to touch out the opposing players.

In the other matches played in this Rs two lakh prize money tournament, MS Police took time to warm up against Union Bank of India. The cops trailing 10-14 at halftime shifted gears to win 37-20 with plenty to spare. Bharat Petroleum preferred to rest the state captain Jitesh Joshi after gauging their opponents Railway Police, whom they beat 29-15.

The ladies section saw one-sided matches as Shivai (Pune) beat Gorakhnath (Mumbai Suburban) 40-22. The latter were at the receiving end at the hands of Veermata Jijau who beat them 18-10. The other two matches saw greenhorns Sphurti (Thane) steamrolled by title contenders Shivshakti and Amar Hind Mandal. Shivshakti beat them 41-6 and Amar Hind Mandal scored a 40-11 win.

UNI