Dharminder Singh had left the Shiromani Akali Dal ahead of the February 20 Punjab Assembly elections and campaigned for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Ghanaur. He had canvassed for another kabaddi player named Gurlal Ghanaur.

According to police, rival groups of Daun Kalan and Theri villages had engaged in clashes outside the university on Tuesday evening. Dharminder had gone to represent his villagers at a meeting with the rival group at a dhaba outside the campus when the incident took place. He was shot dead by unidentified persons when the talks were going on, sources said.

In the visuals, captured by locals in the area, at least 8 to 10 men were seen roaming around the lanes just minutes before Dharminder’s death. As per sources, 10 rounds of bullets were fired during the clashes. The police have taken possession of the body and initiated an investigation.

READ | Punjab CM orders formation of special Anti-Gangster Task Force; ADGP officer to head team
Patiala SSP Nanak Singh said four people have been identified in the murder case so far and teams have been deployed to nab the accused. He said that Dharminder’s body has been sent for post-mortem. The official ruled out the involvement of gangsters in this case, saying that it was a murder over enmity. The police are questioning eyewitnesses.

The incident comes just weeks after another international kabaddi player Sandeep Singh Nangal Ambian was shot dead by four assailants in Jalandhar on March 14. The police arrested all four accused and named a Canada-based NRI in the case.

 Punjab CM Mann orders crackdown on ‘drug nexus in Kabaddi sport’

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann had on Tuesday directed Punjab Police chief VK Bhawra to set up an anti-gangster task force (AGTF) headed by an ADGP-rank officer. In a high-level meeting of the police department, CM Mann emphasised the need to eradicate organised crime in the state.

He assured the officers of requisite manpower, advanced equipment and technology besides adequate funds to the police force “to break the nexus that has already spread its wings in the drug trade and kabaddi sport”.

The game got off to a cagey start as neither team gave the other an inch as the score remained level. Two unanswered points for the Pirates, courtesy of Prashanth Kumar Rai and Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, helped them pull ahead on the scoreboard and reduce Delhi to just three players on the mat.

Guman Singh joined in on the act and picked up two touch points in two raid attempts to reduce Delhi to just Sandeep Narwal on the mat. The all-rounder picked up a bonus before being pinned down by the Pirates’ defence which saw them inflict the game’s first All Out and take a 12-8 lead.

Delhi responded to the setback with two unanswered points to cut the deficit to two and the sides split the next 10 points evenly as they headed into the halftime break with Patna leading 17-15.

The side from the capital were brighter in the opening few minutes of the second half and managed to reduce the Pirates to just three players on the mat.

However, a two-point raid from Guman, a sensational tackle from Mohammadreza and a touch point from Sachin helped Patna build a four-point lead. But then, Vijay flipped the game on its head with a Super Raid that turned the tide of the contest in Delhi’s favour.

Three consecutive successful raids from Naveen left the Pirates with a solitary man and Delhi’s defence pinned down the final man in the subsequent raid to inflict an All Out and help Delhi take the lead.

A Super Raid from Vijay extended Delhi’s lead’s to five, but Monu and Mohammadreza managed to cut the deficit to two. Naveen responded with another touch point to put Delhi up by three, but the duo of Monu and Mohammadreza continued to be their team’s linchpin as they picked up two quick touch points to cut the deficit to a solitary point.

With the Pirates defending the baulk line, Naveen went in and lured a defender into attempting an Ankle Hold which he easily escaped, but Monu replied with a quick touch point of his own to force one more raid from Delhi.

Naveen took the onus of going in for the game’s final raid against a Pirates defence that was defending ahead of the baulk line. The raider timed his attempt to land his foot behind the baulk line to perfection to make the raid legal before returning to his team’s half to confirm Delhi’s victory.

At the end of the final, players were presented with awards for their outstanding effort over the course of the season. Here’s a round-up of the winners:

MVP – Naveen Kumar, Dabang Delhi

The MVP doubled-up on Friday, as Delhi’s Naveen Kumar won the Most Valuable Player award for the second year running. The mercurial raider scored 207 points in 17 matches to help Delhi go one better than they did in Season 7.

Naveen became only the second player after Pardeep Narwal (Season 4 and 5) to win award twice and in consecutive campaigns.

Raider of the Season – Pawan Sehrawat, Bengaluru Bulls

Bengaluru Bulls skipper Pawan Sehrawat successfully defended his Best Raider crown and won the award for the second season in a row. Sehrawat finished the campaign as the league’s leading point scorer with 18 Super 10s and 304 raid points.

The Bulls captain became the second player, after Pardeep Narwal, to break the 300-raid point barrier in two different campaigns.

Defender of the Season – Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, Patna Pirates

For the second season in a row, an Iranian Left Corner took home the Best Defender award. Patna Pirates’ Mohammadreza Chiyaneh couldn’t cap off a spectacular season by leading the Pirates to the title but finished the season as the league’s leading tackle points scorer.

The rookie set a new PKL record with 10 High 5s and his tally of 89 tackle points is the second-highest in a single campaign behind Nitesh Kumar’s 100 in Season 6.

Best New Young Player – Mohit Goyat 

Puneri Paltan’s Mohit Goyat was named the best New Young Player for an outstanding debut season in PKL Season 8. The young raider was the Paltan’s linchpin on offence alongside fellow rookie Aslam Inamdar. Goyat finished the season with 159 raid points in just 21 matches. He also contributed heavily in defence as evidenced by his 28 tackle points.

But where Goyat really stood out was in Do-or-die situations. He scored a league-high 49 raid points in Do-or-die raid attempts, which showcases his immense mental fortitude and skillset.

Like in most matches during the season, raiders dominated defenders in the final. During the previous PKL seasons, there were brilliant all-round performances from the likes of Meraj Sheykh, Rohit Gulia, Rajesh Narwal, Rakesh Kumar, Manjeet Chhillar and Deepak Hooda. However, not many players performed well in both departments in Pro Kabaddi 2022.

Deepak Hooda played as a raider for Jaipur Pink Panthers, whereas Manjeet Chillar featured in Dabang Delhi KC’s playing seven as a defender. Nevertheless, a few players performed well in both departments during the season. On that note, here’s a look at five such players:

#1 Pawan Sehrawat, Bengaluru Bulls

Pawan Sehrawat won the Best Raider of the Tournament award for scoring 304 raid points for Bengaluru Bulls in Pro Kabaddi 2022. The Bulls captain led his team from the front, and also contributed in defence.

Sehrawat was one of the few players to score a Super 10 and a High 5 during the season. He scored 16 tackle points, and executed four super tackles for his team.

#2 Mohit Goyat, Puneri Paltan

Mohit Goyat was one of the finds of the season for Puneri Paltan. The young all-rounder was in the playing seven in Pune’s first game, but by the end of the season, he became a regular.

Goyat played 21 games for Pune in PKL 2022, scoring 159 raid points and 28 tackle points. His all-round brilliance played an integral role in Pune’s run to the playoffs.

#3 Aslam Inamdar, Puneri Paltan

Another youngster who established himself as a match-winner in Pro Kabaddi 2022 was Puneri Paltan’s Aslam Inamdar. The duo of Mohit and Inamdar troubled opposition teams with their all-round skills.

Inamdar scored 169 raid points and 20 tackle points for the Pune-based franchise. He recorded five Super 10s and executed seven super raids as well.

#4 Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Bengal Warriors

Fans had high hopes from Mohammad Nabibakhsh at Pro Kabaddi 2022. However, the Iranian all-rounder could not match his PKL 7 exploits. He was inconsistent, failing to support Maninder Singh in the key games.

Nevertheless, Nabibakhsh managed 89 raid points and 19 tackle points in the season. He scored 4.45 raid points per match, and also executed 0.95 successful tackles per game.

#5 Sandeep Narwal, Dabang Delhi KC

Sandeep Narwal primarily played as a defender for Dabang Delhi KC. However, he stepped up and delivered the goods in the raiding unit when Ajay Thakur and Naveen Kumar were out with injury.

COVID-19 breached the Pro Kabaddi League bio-bubble here with an unspecified number of players in two teams testing positive for the virus, forcing rescheduling of some of the matches. The PKL organisers said in a Monday night statement said that the affected players have been isolated. Changes have been made in the matches scheduled between January 25 and 30. “After the successful completion of the first half of the league-stage… two of the 12 PKL teams have found it difficult to field the requisite number of 12 players for their respective matches due to some players in these teams testing positive for Covid-19,” the organisers Mashal Sports said in a statement.

“To ensure the continuity of matches in the present environment, Mashal Sports together with all PKL teams, have proactively rescheduled some of the matches and will continue to review the situation,” the statement added.

The organisers did not name the two affected teams nor give out the number of positive cases.

The PKL season is currently being played here in a strict bio-bubble.

“The health of the players continues to be top priority for Mashal Sports. The affected players have been timely isolated as part of the safety protocols.” “The affected players have been timely isolated as part of the safety protocols. To ensure the continuity of matches in the present environment, Mashal Sports together with all PKL Teams, have proactively rescheduled some of the matches and will continue to review the situation,” the organisers said.

Match Schedule (Jan 25-30): January 25: Haryana Steelers vs Telugu Titans January 26: U Mumba vs Bengaluru Bulls January 27: UP Yoddha vs Puneri Paltan January 28: Patna Pirates vs Tamil Thalaivas January 29: Dabang Delhi vs Gujarat Giants; Telugu Titans vs Bengal Warriors January 30: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Patna Pirates; Bengaluru Bulls vs Tamil Thalaivas. PTI NRB PDS PDS PDS