Koradi Gears Up For Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Cup Kabaddi

Nagpur: Vidarbha's major pilgrimage site Koradi is famous for the historic 350-year-old Shri Mahalakshmi Jagdamba temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi. For the first time, the temple town of Koradi will witness the thrill of Maharashtra's traditional sport where top kabaddi players will vie for honours in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Cup Senior State-Level tournament from Thursday.The five-day tournament organised annually by the Maharashtra Govt for men and women, will be played at Sevanand Vidyalaya, Koradi. With an aim to inspire kabaddi players across the state and provide them an opportunity to compete at the state level, the tournament is being jointly organised by the Deputy Director's Office, Sports and Youth Services, Nagpur Division, Amateur Kabaddi Association of Vidarbha and Nagpur Rural Kabaddi Association.The tournament will be inaugurated by Maharashtra's deputy chief minister and sports minister Sunetra Pawar at 6.30 pm on Thursday. The inaugural ceremony will feature laser and firecracker show where international yoga players will also perform. On the occasion State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Guardian Minister of Bhandara Pankaj Bhoyar, MLA Ashish Jaiswal, and others will share the dais. For the smooth conduct of the event four international-standard mat courts have been prepared. As many as 448 players and officials from across Maharashtra will be in action during the Senior State tournament, which will be played for the first time in Vidarbha after a gap of 19 years. A total prize money of 19.9 lakh will be distributed.In addition to the 12 men and women teams from across Maharashtra, four Vidarbha teams in each category, including hosts Nagpur, Amravati, Bhandara and Washim, will fight for the honours. The participating teams have divided in four groups. In the men's section, Nagpur team has been placed in Group D with Pune, Sangli and Nashik. In the women's section, Nagpur District team will play their league round games against Mumbai Sub-Urban, Palghar and Parbhani in Group A. The Nagpur Rural women's team is placed in Group D alongside Ratnagiri, Thane and Nanded. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.Nagpur Teams: Rural (Women): Preeti Binzade, Shruti Moreshia, Samiksha Bagde, Tanushree Bhaskar, Sunidhi Shende, Aarti Vaidya, Rajeshwari Jivatode, Rakhi Dhurve, Minakshi Moreshia, Prachi Thakare, Chandani Pandhare, Dimpal Bharde, Nandini Wakalkar, Akshara Kantode. Coach: Praveen Khichar; Manager: Sakshi Zhalke; District (Men): Vijay Shahu, Abhishek Nimbalkar, Harsh Deshpande, Yogesh Kumre, Aditya Sonawane, Alpesh Kawale, Parth Dadwe, Lokesh Sambe, Sudhanshu Chaudhary, Shrikant Paswan, Prathamesh Bondre, Aditya Chinkudkar, Kanak Wadme, Atul Gidhane. Coach: Nitin Dhawale; Manager: Praveen Khichar; District (Women): Kshitija Sakharkar, Prajakta Sontakke, Sakshi Trivedi, Radhika Jadhav, Mangala Dhabale, Punam Sahu, Dimpal P, Rajlakshmi Uike, Harshika Hiranwar, Vaidehi Girdhar, Prachi Baghel, Ankita Chaudhary, Saloni Pohare, Kajal Mondhe. Coach: Padma Uike; Manager: Sunita Raut.