The third day of the inaugural edition of Pro Panja League saw Kiraak Hyderabad and Kochi KD’s picking up scintillating wins at the IGI Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. India’s ace polo player Angad Kalan was also in attendance on Day 3, and was thrilled to see the action-packed contests. “We all have played Panja during our childhood and now that there is a professional league, I am really excited about it. I loved the atmosphere. It was so electrifying to see the players giving their everything,” he said.
It was a dramatic comeback for Hyderabad in the first match, who were trailing 1-2 after the undercard bouts, with MD Hashim and Asha Kumar winning 2 points for Baroda Badshahs. Ujjwal Agrawal earned a sole point for Kiraak. The main card saw Kiraak’s Dheeraj Singh squaring off against Baroda’s Afsal TP in 80kg bout. Dheeraj made his squad proud, winning the bout in straight rounds to earn two bonus points for Hyderabad.
Next up, Naveen MV from Hyderabad faced off against Baroda’s Monu Thomas in 60kg bout. Catching Monu in a hook, Naveen showed impeccable power to win the first round, and then went for a top-arm roll over to win the second round. Naveen won the third round to earn two more bonus points for Hyderabad. Local Telangana player Ahmed Faizan Ali from Kiraak Hyderabad faced off in the final bout of the match against Baroda Badshahs’ Shamir Khan in 100kg category. 43-year-old Shamir used his decades of experience to triumph over the 26-year-old Ahmed, winning the bout 3-1. But Kiraak Hyderabad won the match 12-5.
In the second match, Kochi KD’s earned advantage in the undercard, with Sweta Rajawat and Prasenjit Patra winning 2 points. Amal Das won one point for Rohtak. In the main card, Rohtak’s Karaj Singh faced off against Kochi’s Siddhant Kathuria in an intense 90kg bout that went to a dramatic fifth round. Karaj vs Siddhant proved to be the match of the season, with twists and turns at every stage. Siddhant made the most of an error from Karaj to win the marathon bout and ensured Kochi’s lead.
Next up, Kochi’s Chetna Sharma faced off against Rohtak’s Aakriti Kandari in 65kg bout and successfully issued the 10-second Challenge, winning 10 points from the bout. In the final bout, Rohtak’s Srinivas BV earned clean-sweep win over Kochi’s Asif Ahemad in Specially-abled category via successful Challenge Round, and earned 10 points. But Kochi KD’s won the match 15-13.
Ludhiana Lions will take on Kochi KD’s, and Rohtak Rowdies will face off against Mumbai Muscle on Monday, July 31st, 2023.
