By Tariq khan (CNI) Correspondent
The 22nd UT Senior Kabaddi Championship 2025 for men and women, organized by the Amateur Kabaddi Association J&K under the aegis of J&K sports council, has reached its final stage. The championship, which began on February 7, 2025, will culminate in the final match on Sunday.
The championship was inaugurated by SDM Mendhar Imran Rashid Kataria on February 7 wherein Sh. Kuldeep Sharma, Secretary of the J&K Kabaddi Association, Mr. Surinder Mohan Technical Director of Yuva kabbadi Series J&K and Ladakh, Shabnam Parvaiz Vice principal HSS Boys, Mohd Rauf Naib Tehsildar Mankote and other UT-level personalities were also present. The organisers acknowledged the very special role being played by Mtr. Nuzhat Gul secretary J&K sports council for this event and also for the permission for holding a camp and presented their gratitude to her.
The three-day event has seen intense competition among 22 teams, comprising 13 men’s teams and 9 women’s teams, from across the UT of J&K.
At the league stage matches were played under men category between Srinagar and Udhampur where Udhampur won that match, Pulwama Verses Army team where Army team got the victory, J&K Police team vs Ganderbal where J&K Police team won the match, Anantnag verses Jammu where Team Jammu got the victory, Rajouri verses Badgam where Badgam won the match, again a match was played in Pool A between Udhampur and Army team where Army qualified for semi final, in Pool B J&K Police team faced team kathua where J&K Police qualified for semi final, in Pool C match was played between Jammu and Baramula where Jammu qualified for semi final and in Pool D a match was played between Poonch and Badgam where Poonch qualified for semi final. First semi final was played between Army and Team Jammu where Army outplayed team Jammu and qualified for the final, whereas in the Second semi final match between J&K Police and Poonch, J&K Police qualified for the final. The final under men category will be played on Sunday and the match will be between Army and J&K Police.
Under women category, league matches were played among the teams of Pool A with first match between Anantnag and Srinagar where Anantnag won that match, later on Anantnag further faced J&K Police where J&K Police qualified for semi final after defeating the team Anantnag, a match was played between Udhampur and Poonch teams of Pool A where Udhampur defeated Poonch and qualified for semi final. In Pool B of the women category a match was played between Jammu and Baramula where Jammu qualified for semi final, in a second match Kathua faced Badgam where Kathua won that match and qualified for semi final. In semi final two matches were played between with first match between Udhampur and Kathua where Kathua won the match and qualified for final, in second match Jammu faced J&K Police where Jammu qualified for the final. The final between kathua and Jammu will be played on Sunday.
All the teams have been battling it out in a series of thrilling matches, with the top teams advancing to the final stage.
The main organisers of the event were Mir Alam PEL, Basharat Khan ZPEO Harni, Abrar Ahmed Khan PEM, Vikram Bhasin PET and Aurangzeb Ahmed PET whereas Majid Khan PEM, Suresh Kumar PEM, Mohd Shanaz PET, Ayaz Hussain Shah PET, Basar Khan PET, Mohd Razaq PET, Mohd Akram PET, Sakinder Azam PET, Shamhoon ul Haq PET, Mohd Aslam PET, Mohd Mobin PET, Shabir Ahmed PET, Tariq Mahmood PET, Nazarat Hussain PET, Parvaiz Ahmed PET, Intzar Ahmed REK, Shahid Khan REK, Javid Iqbal REK and Mohd Akram PET were the officials who played key role in all the matches as referee, scorers and empires.
The organizers have ensured a smooth conduct of the event, with arrangements for stay and food for all participating players, coaches, and team managements.
The event was commentated by Parwaz Azam Khan and Ajaz Ahmed Chauhan.
The final match, scheduled for Sunday, is expected to be a thrilling encounter between the top four teams. Kabaddi enthusiasts from across the region are eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the championship. Large number of spectators were present during the whole tournament.