The Journey of the Table Toppers | K7 Kabaddi Qualifiers Rajasthan

K7 Kabaddi Qualifiers Rajasthan came to an end this past Sunday. The 4 teams from 4 POOLS made it to the next stage with some breathtaking performances. Some dominated all the way while a few had close calls and 2nd half blitz to see them through to the K7 Kabaddi World Series. 

The tournament was supposed to be full of teams with some exciting individual prospects and well-trained teams on display. And they lived up to the expectations kids from Rajasthan did not disappoint themselves nor the K7 audience.

POOL A Winners - Bajrang Rockers

Bajrang Rockers took on Lohagarh Heroes as the opening match of the K7 Kabaddi Qualifiers Rajasthan. The game was a one-sided affair. BR dominated this from start to finish, Jai Bhagwan leading the touchpoints chart and was awarded hero of the match. Ankit Jat followed him closely and put out some great challenges to thrash LH by 27 points.  

Their second game was a different story altogether. BR failed to assert its dominance here from the get-go. The defenders were a bit jaded as they trailed at halftime. And it looked like their first loss would be conceded but, Jai came to the rescue once again when defenders failed. His 16 touchpoints alone were the game-changer, especially in the death when he muscled his way past Kuldeep Singh to pick up the crucial point of the game.  

BR completed their hattrick of wins with a 9 point win in their last game with Arjun Singh Choudhary scoring 11 touchpoints. 

POOL B Winners - Umaid Hawks

The POOL B Story was the carbon copy as the POOL A toppers. Umaid Hawks played their opening game against Shekawati Yoddhas, which ultimately proved a walk in the park for them. Nitin Panwar was on fire as he notched up 18 points in the game to derail their opponents. The defensive quartet of Kapil Gurjar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sachin B, Prem Bhadu were all in perfect sync as they scored 14 tackle points combined. 

The 2nd game was a fair fight. Mewar Kings proved to be formidable opponents who pushed them right to the edge. Nitin was equally matched by the raiding duo of Vipendra Singh, Rahul Choudhary L from MK, and was proving to be a tough nut to crack. Most of the 2nd half saw both teams' defensive unit trying to cage down the raiders. Finally, the pressure got to the better of them as MK conceded an all-out right at the death for UH to snatch the game by 2 points. 

The last game saw them wrap up POOL B without breaking a sweat as the defensive unit of Mukesh Choudhary, Prem Bhadu, Kapil Gurjar restricted the other team to just 26 points.

POOL C Winners - JSG Warriors

JSG Warriors proved to be the most aggressive teams out in the league in comparison to the other teams. Mahipal took it upon himself to score the major chunk for his team. He breached the 20 points barrier with 16 touch points and 6 bonus points. He got the man of the match for the first game and led his team to a 26 points win. 

The second game saw them put their strong foot down at Jai Garh Jaguars. They raced off ahead in the game super aggressively without letting JGJ even settle them in the game. By halftime, they led them by 25 points. Mahipal dominated as usual but Vishal Sharma came out of his shell as he stopped JGJ players on his own 7 times to cap off a memorable performance.

With a high score difference already, chances of them going out even if they lose the last game were less. But, JSGW had just one goal in mind that was to win. Mahipal with, his 3rd man of the match performance, was 2nd in terms of average strike rate (raids) in the tournaments so far. They won their last game with a comfortable 11 points to breeze through the POOL stages. 

POOL D Winners - Rana Pratap Riders

The Pool D was the most contested and hard-fought pool of them all to win. All the games here were neck to neck and a thriller to watch for the neutrals. The first game saw Aravalli Guards take On RPR. The first half was a closely contested battle. Rakesh Kumar Kuladiya from AG was leading the raid points chart for AG. While Yuvraj was just behind. But in the 2nd half, Yuvraj was supported by Raman Kumar as they both combined to overpower Rakesh to lead their team to their first win. 

2nd match was a little easier than the first. The game was a low-scoring affair in the first half with, each team playing patiently and RPR leading by 5 points. Yuvraj Choudhary and Raman Kumar were proving to be a duo to be reckoned with as they combined yet again to score 11 touchpoints each. Raman helped out defensively as well to lead his team to an 11 point win.

Even after winning their first two games they still weren't assured of a place in the final. 3 teams were eligible to qualify and take the top spot. RPR knew they had a battle on their hands against Salasar Express.  

The first half was like a long battlefield taking place. Both teams were rigid and not being too expressive, with RPR leading just by 2 points. The 2nd half could have not stayed the same, the draw would make both of them out of the top spot. So RPR took the initiative Yuvraj Choudhary took it in his own hands to see his team through to the next round with 15 touch points alone, two more than the combined touchpoints of Sardar Choudhary, Mohammed Arshad of SE. The match & top spot was sealed with a cracking 2nd half show from RPR. 

With 4 deserving teams through from the K7 Kabaddi Rajasthan Qualifiers, the wait for the K7 Kabaddi World Series is just getting tougher to withstand too.