Kabaddi to herald action at Third Khelo India University Games; Lucknow, Varanasi among host cities

Noida (Uttar Pradesh)[India], May 23 : Sporting action at the third Khelo India University Games 2022 Uttar Pradesh (KIUG 2022 UP) will start on Tuesday with league matches for both the men's and women's Kabaddi competitions.

It will be an evening start at the Indoor stadium of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik (SVSP) sports complex located here in the city, with three women's and four men's pool matches scheduled on the roster.

The first matches include a Pool B encounter between the HP University, Shimla and HCY University, Durg women's teams and a Pool A clash between the M.D. University, Rohtak and VELS University, Tamil Nadu.

A total of 15 university teams, with Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, being the only University fielding teams in both the women's and men's sections, will take part in the competition where a total of 190 athletes are registered to participate.

The 24-league matches will conclude on May 25 with the semi-finals scheduled for May 26 while the finals take place on May 27, 2023.

Both previous winners, Kota University of Rajasthan (men's) and Kurukshetra University of Haryana (women's) will be there to defend their titles which they won in Bengaluru last year.

Although the grand official opening ceremony of the third edition of the KIUG 2022 UP is slated for May 25, 2023, at Lucknow's BBD University Main Ground, competitions begin with Kabaddi at Greater Noida on May 23 with other disciplines like Basketball, Mallakhamb, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Football, Rugby and Tennis also beginning at various venues from May 24, 2023.

As many as 4008 athletes from 207 Universities from across the country will participate in 21 sporting disciplines at the third KIUG 2022 UP, making it the largest KIUG ever. Water sports in the form of rowing will also make its debut at the KIUG with Gorakhpur's picturesque natural lake Ramgarh Taal set to play host. Four cities of UP namely Lucknow, Varanasi and Noida, besides Gorakhpur, will host the 12-day multi-sport extravaganza while Delhi will be hosting the shooting competition.