CHENNAI: TN kabaddi teams are determined to give the state a medal winning start as Kabaddi events start at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor from Thursday. One of India’s most popular indigenous sport kicks off on home turf and expectations are riding high on the home team.
Tamil Nadu girls, who won the bronze medal in the last edition of the Games in Madhya Pradesh, will launch their campaign against defending champions Haryana in Group A on Thursday. Telangana and Maharashtra are the other teams in Group A.
In the boy’s category, Tamil Nadu is clubbed with Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi in Group B.
Both the teams have been training for the past week at the Indoor stadium.
The girls’ team is being coached by Dhyan Chand Award winner Kavitha Selvaraj and they are determined to upgrade to gold medal in front of a supportive home crowd. “This time we are playing with the best players. The Haryana team can be a tough challenge for us. However, this time we are aiming for a gold medal. The Tamil Nadu team is strong both in defence and raids. So, we are confident that we can achieve our goal,” she said.
The boys’ team is aiming for its first podium finish in the Youth category and coach M Nagaraj said, “Teams like Haryana and Maharashtra have always been challenging. But we have been training very hard since first week of January and we are confident of winning a medal here.”
GROUPS:
Women: Group A: Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra. Group B: Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh.
Men: Group A: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra. Group B: Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Delhi