Maharashtra Woodball Association conducted the first National Woodball league 2022 in Nagpur recently, at Gangotri Lawns and Resort under the Auspicious of Woodball Association of India.
On Day One, a total of 100+ players competed in the 1st Preliminary Round, with 55 men and 50 women competing. Both the Men’s and Women’s Events had preliminary knockout rounds. The top ten men and women advanced to the Final Round of the prestigious National Woodball League.
The Chief Guests, as well as other dignitaries from the Woodball Association of India, were present at the opening ceremony on the first day in the evening.
Dipak Kumar Agrawal, Deputy Secretary to Governor, Government of Chattisgarh, Pravin Manwatkar, Treasurer, Wooodball Association of India, Ajay Sontakke, General Secretary, Wooodball Association of India, Kishor Badge, Vice President, Wooodball Association of India, Sudeep Manwatkar, CEO of Woodball Association of India, Kishor Jethwani, owner, Gangotri Resorts were among the distinguished guests.
Day Two: On the second day of the tournament, various events were held concurrently, followed by Team events. There were a total of eight teams that competed:
1. Maharashtra
2. Madhya Pradesh
3. Jharkhard
4. Leh Ladakh
5. Chattisgarh
6. Rajasthan
7. Jammu & Kashmir
8. Andra Pradesh
The action began on Day Three with the final match between Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The game was intense, and the participants were playing with all of their energy and focus.
It was a toss-up between the two teams. However, Maharashtra was declared the winner of the National Woodball League 2022.
Team Maharashtra’s score is –
1) Sudeep Manwatkar – 26 pts
2) Raunak khairkar- 26 pts
3) Abhishek Atram – 30 pts
4) Amol mundale-31 pts
5) Aditya Mantri- 32 pts
The Maharashtra team finished strong, defeating Jharkhand to take home the trophy.
Sudeep Manwatkar (Captain), Raunak Khairkar, Abhishek Atram, Amol Mundale, Aditya Mantri, and Harshad Pathrikar were among the players who received prizes and participated in the Closing Ceremony on the final day of the tournament.
With other dignitaries from the Woodball Association of India, the Chief Guest was Vijayji Barse, the Real-Life Hero whose Life Story inspired Amitabh Bachchan and Nagraj Manjule’s JHUND The Movie.
The Chief Guest gave a motivational address to kick off the event. Pravin Manwatkar, Treasurer of the Wooodball Association of India, Ajay Sontakke, General Secretary of the Wooodball Association of India, Kishor Badge, Vice President of the Wooodball Association of India, and Suraj Yeotikar, General Secretary of the Minigolf Federation of India were among the guests of honour.
The tournament was a huge success, marking the first ever National Woodball League in Woodball India's history. The trophy, medals, and winner’s certificate were presented to each team and their players.
Team List of Winners-
1) SUDEEP MANWATKAR (Captain)
2) RAUNAK KHAIRKAR
3) ABHISHEK ATRAM
4) AMOL MUNDALE
5) ADITIYA MANTRI
6) HARSHAD PATHRIKAR
Adv. Sudeep Manwatkar, the winning team’s captain, expressed his gratitude to his comrades for winning the national league and praised the organisers for such a wonderful and amazing occasion.