Oxford loses Varsity Kabadi
Kabadi is one of the oldest games on the planet, yet one of the most unknown.
Eighth week saw Cambridge host the first ever Varsity Kabadi match, which was played after a mini tournament was held between Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, and Portsmouth.
The tournament itself was won by UCL, but it did offer a taste of things to come when Cambridge faced Oxford in a pre-Varsity encounter that resulted in an 18-18 draw that formed the main focus of the day.
The Varsity match itself was a closely fought contest with Tab captain Karan Keswani in particular showing flair in attack by claiming four points for the home side.
The inexperienced Oxford side were determined not to give in and they brought the scores close, with Venothan Suri exceptional in attack and managing to claim two Cambridge players in a single move.
Avinash Patchava was a stalwart in defence, using his rugby skills to take down the Tabs by putting his body on the line.
The game was always going to be close and with only one minute left on the clock the scores were tied but Cambridge quickly scored one point to give them a 13-12 victory.
It was a huge disappoinment for an Oxford side but they acquitted themselves well and look forward to next year's encounter.
6th May 2004