Murthal Magnets lift the Inaugural Women’s Yuva Kabaddi Series 2024 trophy with an unbeaten record

Murthal Magnets underlined their domination in the inaugural JSG Women’s Yuva Kabaddi Series 2024 with a 28-21 victory over Himalayan Tahrs in a thrilling final at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium here to finish the tournament with an all-win record.

15-year-old Raider Nikita emerged as the top scorer for Murthal Magnets with an impressive nine points, including two bonus points. Kavita and Dipti also made significant contributions, each adding 5 points to the team's tally. Dipti, who missed the survival round due to her participation in the Khelo India University games, proved to be a game-changer in the summit round as her performance played a crucial role in securing the victory for Murthal Magnets. She played a key role in keeping Pushpa out of the mat multiple times during the final. On the opposing team, Asian Games gold medalist Pushpa Rana stood out as the star performer for Himalayan Tahrs, scoring seven touch points and one bonus point.

Nikita, who had helped Haryana win the gold medal at the 2023 Sub-Junior Nationals in Jharkhand, has been the find of the tournament as she played an instrumental role in helping Murthal Magnets win all their round-robin matches comfortably.

The thrilling final was witnessed by Dr Mridul Gehlot, first Gyne Oncologist of Rajasthan, Dhyanchand Awardee kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj and Asian Games gold medalist and Arjuna Awardee Sakshi Punia.

The inaugural JSG Women’s Yuva Kabaddi Series 2024, a platform for aspiring players to showcase their skills, witnessed a total of 19 high-intensity matches with 96 players from six different states including Rajasthan, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi competing over a week, first in a round-robin league called Survival round and then the play offs, Summit Round.

All the teams had a perfect blend of international stars like Asian Games gold medallist Pushpa Rana, Nidhi Sharma and Jyoti Kumar and the young brigade that included defender C Sneka and Bhavna Devi, who had a memorable National Games in Goa among others.

Nikita finished the tournament with 69 points while Pushpa Rana completed a century to score a total of 104 points to top the Raiders chart. Champa Thakur of Himalayan Tahrs was the top defender with 22 points while Sneha of Palani Tuskers a close second with 21 points.

“The quality of matches in the group stage of the JSG Women’s Yuva Kabaddi Series 2024 has only vindicated our decision to launch the Women’s series and underlined the kind of talent we have in the country. Many future stars have emerged during this week-long event and I am sure that many of them will soon be pushing for spots in the national team,” said CEO of Yuva Kabaddi Series, Mr. Vikas Gautam.

The tournament has a total prize pool of Rs 12.5 lakhs with Murthal Magnets taking home a prize purse of Rs 5 lakh. Himalayan Tahrs will get a prize purse of Rs 2.50 lakh.