Pro Kabaddi 2018: Puneri Paltan beat Haryana Steelers 34-22
Chennai, Oct 8: Puneri Paltan produced a solid all-round team performance to beat Haryana Steelers 34-22 to register their first win of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season VI here Monday.
Nitin Tomar led from the front as he scored seven points and was ably supported by G B More and Deepak Kumar Dahiya who scored six and five points respectively.
For Haryana Steelers, it was a disappointing night for the raiders as apart from Vikas Kandola (8 points) no one else contributed much.
Haryana Steelers were quick off the blocks with their defence and raiders scoring two points each as they led 4-2 after 7 minutes. Puneri Paltan defence scored their first point of the match in the 7th minute as they trailed 3-4. Both teams traded raid and tackle points in the next few minutes as Haryana Steelers held a slender 7-6 lead after 13 minutes.
More did the bulk of scoring for Pune as he had four points in the first 15 minutes. Surender Nada earned two tackle points for Haryana's defence. It was a low-scoring affair in the first half as both teams played on the do-or-die raids.
Nitin Tomar scored with a two-point raid as Puneri Paltan inflicted the first all out of the match in the 19th minute to take 14-8 lead. In the last five minutes of the first half Puneri Paltan turned the match on its head as they scored eight straight points compared to Haryana's solitary point. At the end of the first half, Puneri Paltan led 15-9.
Haryana Steelers started the second half better as they scored five points to trail 14-18. Nitin Tomar, however, had different ideas as he scored with a two-point raid in the 27th minute to lead 20-14.
Puneri Paltan managed the game quite well as they contained the Steelers' raiders very well. With just five minutes to go, Puneri Paltan had opened a nine-point gap. In the 36th minute, another all out was inflicted by Pune as they led 30-17.
The 'brave moments' of the match belonged to Nitin Tomar who suffered an injury but continued to battle on for his team. In the 19th minute, Tomar helped Pune inflict a crucial all out from which Haryana never recovered.
Puneri Paltan made little work of Haryana Steelers in the second half as they ran out comfortable winners.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
I am back home: All England missed, Sindhu lands back in Bengaluru from Dubai
Bengaluru (PTI): Two-time Olympic medal-winning Indian badminton star P V Sindhu, who was stranded in Dubai due to closure of airspace in the Gulf region, has returned to the country after pulling out of the All England Championships in Birmingham.
Sindhu posted on X to announce that she is back in the city.
"Back home in Bangalore and safe. The last few days have been intense and uncertain, but I'm truly grateful to be back to my house," she posted.
"A heartfelt thank you to the incredible ground teams, Dubai authorities, airport staff, immigration, and every single person who stepped up and took such good care of us during a very difficult time. The empathy and professionalism meant more than words can say.
ALSO READ: Sonia slams Modi govt's silence on Khamenei killing, demands debate in Parliament
"For now, it's time to rest, reset, and figure out the next steps," she added.
The former world champion was on her way to Birmingham via Dubai, when she was stranded after the flight operations were suspended in the Gulf region following the US and Israeli bombing of Iran.
Iran subsequently retaliated, hitting Dubai as well.
"Moments like these remind you how fragile normal life really is," she had posted on February 28 while revealing some details of her ordeal, which included an explosion near her place of stay.
She had described the experience as "extremely tense and scary moment" for her and her team, including Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama.
