BHUBANESWAR 30-Dec-2012 196
Punjab men and Madhya Pradesh women won the titles in the 34th Senior National Softball Championship, which concluded at the SOA University campus here on Sunday. In the finals, Punjab men rallied brilliantly to down Chandigarh 8-7, while Madhya Pradesh women regained the crown after a 12-year hiatus, trouncing Punjab 11-1 in the finals
With internationals Gurpreet Singh and Jagjit Singh in their ranks, Punjab recovered after trailing 2-3 in the first innings to level matters in the second by winning 3-2. Things were level at 2-2 in the third innings after which the winners edged ahead 1-0 in the fourth for an overall lead of 8-7. As Chandigarh failed to add to its score in the fifth innings, Punjab ran out winners without having to bat.
Gurpreet’s pitching was exceptional while Jagjit hit the homers. Punjab had finished runners-up to Kerala in both the men’s and women’s sections in the Senior Nationals at Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh last year. Kerala, however, bowed out before reaching the title round this time.
Punjab, however, had mixed fortune as its women’s team went down to Madhya Pradesh in the grand final. Madhya Pradesh girls, who had beaten Punjab 3-1 to qualify for the grand final earlier on Saturday, were in great form as they had an easy encounter scoring through Indu Prasad and Sabita Parke while Arati Sen and Apekshya Sule also excelled for the team. Pint sized Nidhi Jain caught the eye with her electrifying fielding. Madhya Pradesh had last won the women’s title at the senior nationals at Dewas in MP in 1999.
Odia cine star Sabyasachi, Government Deputy Chief Whip Sanjay Dasburma gave away the trophies, medals, mementos and certificates at the closing function. Softball Association of India Secretary General Praveen Anaokar was present on the occasion. The championship was jointly organized by the SOA University and Odisha Softball Association.
