Brace yourself for an action-packed experience of Kabaddi as the Senior National Championship is returning for another edition. The 69th edition of the Men’s Senior National Kabaddi Championship will be held at Charkhi Dadri city of Haryana from the 21st to 24th July of 2022. It is recognised as the biggest domestic Kabaddi event in the country after Pro Kabaddi League.
The high-profile PKL names will be returning to the mat to hunt the National honour for their respective states, regions and promotion boards. It will be an extravagant event where many unknown commodities will be exposed to the stage where the entire Indian Kabaddi circuit will be eying. Hence let’s take a look at the five hot favourites to win the 69th Senior National Championship.
#1 Maharashtra
The raiding responsibility of Team Maharashtra is on the young shoulders of Aslam Inamdar
The Champions of 65th Senior Nationals and Bronze medalists of the previous edition have surprised everyone by having a revamp in their roster. Only the Bengaluru Bulls right cover Mayur Kadam has been retained from the squad which marched to the semifinals in the 68th edition at Ayodhya. While the PKL inaugural edition champion with Jaipur Pink Panthers, Prashant Chavan has been appointed as the head coach by Maharashtra State Kabaddi Association replacing Prashant Surve who has now joined the Bengal Warriors camp.
The jumping-jack of Puneri Paltan, Aslam Inamdar will be leading the Maharashtra raiding unit along with his Yuva Paltan teammate Akash Shinde. The current squad misses out on some of the biggest names of the State such as Rishank Devadiga, Girish Ernak, Siddharth Desai, Ajinkya Pawar and Shubham Shinde. The absence of those stalwarts will be dearly missed however the new additions to the roster are capable enough to carry forward their legacy at the national level.
Strongest Seven: Aslam Inamdar, Akash Shinde, Siddhesh Pingle; Arkam Shaikh, Mayur Kadam; Kiran Magar, Shankar Gadai (C)
#2 Uttar Pradesh
The hosts of the previous edition may have failed to create history on their home turf then but are ready to orchestrate another attempt on the national honour. The poster-boy Rahul Chaudhari has been once again handed over the responsibility to lead the state side. Under Rahul’s leadership, Uttar Pradesh emerged as the champions of the 63rd Senior Nationals in 2015 when the star raider was on top of his game.
Rahul will be accompanied by the likes of Nitin Tomar, Abhishek Singh Thakur and Rohit Tomar as it makes them one of the deadliest offensive units of the season. While the presence of Harendra Kumar and UP Yoddha star Ashu Singh on cover positions strengthens their defense. Right corner Sahul Kumar who had a stellar debut PKL campaign with Jaipur Pink Panthers will be also seen in the Uttar Pradesh outfit.
Strongest Seven: Rahul Chaudhari (C), Nitin Tomar, Abhishek Singh; Harendra Kumar, Ashu Singh; Sahul Kumar, Ashish Nagar
#3 Haryana
The national clan of Kabaddi has the most active players in the top-level national circuit but still hasn’t won the prestigious championship for more than a decade. They have come close numerous times but couldn’t grab it firmly and it will be a golden opportunity for them to finally end the drought as the current will be played in their home. As usual, the Haryana squad is studded with big names but the million-dollar question is can this team be able to perform like a complete unit.
It’s the perfect opportunity for Pardeep Narwal to regain his golden touch right before the commencement of the ninth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. As the star Haryana raider looked off-colour with his new home UP Yoddha and got overshadowed by Surender Gill. Pardeep will be having the support of young guns Mohit Goyat, Meetu Sharma and Guman Singh in the raiding department.
The cover defense duo of Jaideep Dahiya and Mohit Nandal are likely to take forward their partnership for Haryana after a successful campaign with the Steelers franchise. The veteran Surender Nada’s presence on the left will provide solid leadership support to the team due to his immense experience. The competition for the right corner position is quite high but the Arjuna Awardee and PKL 8 winner Sandeep Narwal is expected to get the nod ahead of Amit Hooda and Saurabh Nandal.
Strongest Seven: Pardeep Narwal, Mohit Goyat, Meetu Sharma; Jaideep Dahiya, Mohit Nandal; Surender Nada, Sandeep Narwal
#4 Services
The Naveen Express is back on track!
The Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) is considered a giant side in the national setup as many youngsters in the country aspire to represent their armed forces one day. The champions of 62nd and 64th Senior Nationals have been part of five finals from the last seven editions which shows their dominance is on another level.
Services have retained the core of their roster which represented armed forces in the past few seasons and strengthened it with new additions. Naveen Kumar Goyat who is regarded as the future of Indian Kabaddi is the star attraction of the Services side. The 22-year-old sensation broke his curse of losing finals by winning the PKL 8 championship and is now aiming to add this silverware to his trophy cabinet.
The rising stars Arjun Deshwal and Manjeet Dahiya will be also there in the offensive department of Services to leave no stone unturned. Surjeet is widely regarded as one of the greatest Services defenders of all time and will be against donning the armed forces outfit at the Senior National Championship. Bengaluru Bulls vice-captain Mahender Singh will be Surjeet’s cover partner in the defensive line. While the left-corner Sandeep Kandola who announced his grand comeback to the top-level stage in the previous edition is now gearing up to take the charge of marshalls for another year.
Strongest Seven: Naveen Kumar Goyat, Arjun Deshwal, Manjeet Dahiya; Mahender Singh, Surjeet; Sandeep Kandola ©, Rahul Rawal
#5 Railways
Undoubtedly, the Railways Sports Promotion Board is the finest Kabaddi side in the Indian circuit right now. The Railways team completed a hat-trick of Senior National triumphs when they defeated Services in the Grand Finale of the 68th Championship. They have retained eight players from the trophy-winning squad for the 2021 year, leaving out four names Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Shrikant Jadhav, Sandeep Dhull, and Mallikarjun.
The storm named Pawan Kumar Sehrawat will be back in action to defend their national honour along with his raiding partners Vikash Kandola and Rohit Gulia. Former Maharashtra vice-captain Pankaj Mohite has been selected as the replacement of Shrikant Jadhav who is now headed to the Goa state. The corner positions will be under the control of Gujarat Giants’ brothers of destruction, Sunil Malik, and Parvesh Bhainswal who are helming this role for a long time.
After Dharmaraj Cheralathan’s departure, now it’s time for Nitin Rawal to step up and don the left corner position. On the other hand, there will be an intense battle between veteran Ravinder Pahal and stalwart Nitesh Kumar for the right side of the corner defense. This will be the final assignment for the Railways gaffer Rana Pratap Tiwari hence his disciples must be planning to give him a farewell by winning the fourth consecutive championship.Strongest Seven: Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Vikash Kandola, Pankaj Mohite; Parvesh Bhainswal, Sunil Malik; Nitin Rawal, Nitesh Kumar