Indian Railways won the 72nd Senior Men’s National Kabaddi Championship title after beating Maharashtra 49–31 in the final here on Friday.
Railways, led by Sunil Kumar, the most successful PKL captain, prevailed over 29 teams divided into eight pools, after 54 matches over the last four days.
On their road to the final, the Railways beat the likes of Chandigarh and Karnataka before claiming their final victory over a strong Maharashtra side led by Aslam Inamdar, one of the top players in Pro Kabaddi League.
The concluding day of the tournament featured four teams in action, starting off with two semifinal games played between Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, and Indian Railways and Chandigarh respectively.
After beating their respective opponents in the semifinals, Railways and Maharashtra advanced to the finals, which was dominated by the former with a strong all-round performance.
Pankaj Mohite led the raiding unit with 12 points, while Ashu Malik, who also led Dabang Delhi KC to victory in PKL 12, contributed eight points.
Railways’ defence complemented the raiders effectively, finishing with 14 tackle points and applying sustained pressure on Maharashtra throughout the contest.
Despite efforts from Shivam Patare and Aslam Inamdar, Maharashtra struggled to match Railways’ intensity as the latter pulled away decisively to seal the championship by an 18-point margin.
