Gautam Buddha Nagar, May 24 (IANS): Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University, HP University, Shimla and Adamas University Kolkata won their respective matches on the opening day of kabaddi competitions that started a few days before the inauguration of the Khelo India University Games 2022.

While the whole of Uttar Pradesh and India await the official opening ceremony of the Games on May 25, Kabaddi kicked off the first competitive day of the games amidst much fanfare at the SVSP Sports Complex, Gautam Buddha Nagar.

The day began with a heartbreak for Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya University (ABVVU), Bilaspur as they lost 28-41 to Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University, Jind in their opening league match of the women's category at the Noida's Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Indoor Sports Complex.

For ABVVU, Sanju Devi did most of the work in the initial stages of the preliminary round match. However, her hard work couldn't help her snatch a victory for her team as they fell short of the overall match strategy. On the other hand, ABVVU's opponents from Jind changed their strategy to check Sanju Devi and were successful as both teams were neck to neck with three minutes left on board. At this crucial juncture, the team from Jind shifted gears to tighten their grip over the match and raced ahead to a 41-28 win.

In the second match in the women's category, HP University, Shimla beat HCY University, Durg 51-29.

The university from Shimla pressed hard from the start and raced to a 29-11 lead in the first half of the match. The team from Shimla added another 22 points in the second half, while the Durg side tried hard to close the gap but weren't able to recover the lost ground.

In the men's side, Adamas University Kolkata struggled hard against Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo as two of its players got injured halfway through the first-round match. Kolkata lost 29-35. The final match of the evening saw Kota University walk away with an easy 28-23 win over SRM University, Chennai.