The Department of Physical Education and Sports, St. Joseph Vaz College, Cortalim, participated in the Inter-Collegiate Women’s Kabaddi Tournament for the academic year 2026–27 with a team comprising entirely of new and inexperienced players. The participating students were Nidhi Shetgaonkar (T.Y.B.Sc), Nisha Maity (S.Y.B.Sc), Samrin Kattimani (F.Y.B.Sc), Siddhi Shedge (T.Y.B.Sc), Zuneera Patvekar (S.Y.B.Sc), Pratiksha Jadhav (F.Y.B.Sc), Reeya Shirodkar (S.Y.B.Sc), Namrata Lamani (S.Y.B.Sc), Taslim Sayyed (F.Y.B.Sc), Nagina Halakurki (F.Y.B.Sc), Magdalin Dias (S.Y.B.Sc) and Jesiah S Guru (F.Y.B.Sc).

In preparation for the tournament, a special three-day Kabaddi workshop was organised to motivate and encourage students to take up the sport and develop an interest in competitive Kabaddi. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Aditya Velip, who guided the students through the fundamentals of the game and helped them understand the basic skills, techniques and requirements of Kabaddi. The workshop played an important role in building confidence among the beginners and encouraged them to come forward and represent the college at the inter-collegiate level.

Following the workshop, a structured 15-day practice programme was conducted for all the beginners under the guidance of Mr. Aditya Velip. The students underwent regular training sessions at the college, where they worked on basic skills, fitness, movement, raiding, defending, coordination and match situations. To provide the players with greater exposure and experience, two practice sessions were also conducted at MES and Borda College. These sessions gave the team an opportunity to experience playing on different grounds and against players outside the college, thereby helping them prepare for the intensity and pressure of inter-collegiate competition.

The team faced Dhempe College, Miramar, in the very first round of the Inter-Collegiate Tournament. Despite being a completely new team with no previous inter-collegiate experience, the students displayed tremendous determination, fighting spirit and confidence throughout the match. The game turned out to be an incredible contest, with the St. Joseph Vaz College team giving their more experienced opponents a very tough challenge. The team was leading for most of the match and remained ahead until the final raid. However, due to a lack of experience and the pressure of the closing moments, the team narrowly lost the match by a score of 33–31.

The performance of the team was particularly commendable, with Pratiksha Jadhav, Nagina Halakurki, Taslim Sayyed, Samrin Kattimani and Magdalin Dias putting up outstanding performances and playing a major role in keeping the team in contention until the very end. Although the result did not go in favour of St. Joseph Vaz College, the performance demonstrated the tremendous potential of the players and showed that the team could compete strongly against established college teams despite being made up of beginners.

A particularly encouraging achievement was that some of the college players attracted the attention of Kabaddi clubs through their performances and were selected to represent clubs. This is a significant achievement for the students and a strong indication of the talent and potential developed during the training period. The progress made by the players in such a short period reflects the effectiveness of the training and guidance provided by Mr. Aditya Velip. His three-day workshop and continued 15-day coaching helped transform a group of beginners into a competitive team capable of putting up a memorable performance at the inter-collegiate level.

The participation in the tournament was therefore a valuable learning experience for the students. More than the final result, the team gained confidence, match experience, teamwork and the motivation to continue developing their skills. The narrow 33–31 defeat against Dhempe College has provided the players with valuable experience that can be carried forward into future competitions. Hats off to Mr. Aditya Velip for his dedicated training and to all the students for their commitment, courage and excellent display of team spirit. The performance has laid a strong foundation for the development of Women’s Kabaddi at St. Joseph Vaz College.