The Maharashtra women stunned National Champions Himachal Pradesh 32-31, while Gujarat (men) surprised Goa 56-27.

Maharashtra men had a much easier outing though, beating Tamil Nadu 49-25. Services trounced Chandigarh 66-32 in a late-night match.

However, Gujarat women counterparts, though, could not stop Bihar from running away to a comfortable 38-15 victory, thanks largely to a command performance in the second half.

Meanwhile, Netball action also started in Bhavnagar, with the hosts facing National Champions Haryana in the opening encounter. The Gujarat men’s team, clearly the underdogs, came up with a spirited fight in their Pool A clash but ended on the losing side 47-60.

The first two quarters were neck-and-neck affairs with Haryana taking a 13-11 lead. Gujarat did not concede any space by ensuring that the lead did not extend beyond two points at half-time.

It was in the third quarter that Haryana raced ahead, winning 17 points against 6 by Gujarat. Though the hosts and Haryana bagged 17 points each in the final quarter, the home team had little chance of catching up.

Himanshu was the highest scorer for the hosts with 28 points while Vikas contributed 11 points and Manoj Tank scored 8 points.

Gujarat captain Vikas Prajapati said his team played quite well but their failure to defend in the third quarter hurt them. "We will surely correct these mistakes in subsequent matches," he said.

The results:
Kabaddi
Men
Group A: Maharashtra beat Tamil Nadu 49-25;
Group B: Gujarat beat Goa 56-27
Women:
Group A: Bihar beat Gujarat 38-15; Maharashtra beat Himachal Pradesh 32-31.

Netball:
Men’s Group A: Gujarat lost to Haryana 47-60