IMPERIAL 3s DEBUT IN A GROUP FULL OF PREVIOUS NATIONALS FINALISTS

The NHSF National tournament was held in Birmingham last weekend, with Imperial fielding three teams this year, with what critics are calling “the strongest third team ever seen in British Kabaddi”. In response to the high expectations, the Thirds were pitted against three of the toughest A teams in the group stages. Anticipation was high as the Thirds waited for their first game: LSE As.

LSE A

The Thirds first full match as a team was against the far more experienced LSE A side (2016 finalists). With a tough start and an early all-out, the Thirds managed to regain their composure for a highly competitive second half. With a number of stellar raids from freshers Kiri Sivalogarajah and Humzah Ali, the LSE side began to realise the Imperial team was serious and replied with a succession of successful raids. However, the Thirds responded with a couple of huge hits from Jake Stewart with the rest of the team showing great support. End result: LSE 32 - 7 3rds.

Warwick A

Warwick (2015 finalists) were on the warpath this year, with their eyes on the final and their ranks swollen with a number of goliath-sized players. The Thirds had a rocky start as their defence was tested by the Warwick side. Moral hit an all-time low as beloved co-captain Ned Summers was knocked off after a slightly over-zealous tackle on Warwick’s behemoth of a raider. After an all out, the Thirds had a better defensive second half, with relative newcomer Abhishek Roy making a successful raid against the Warwick side. Final score: Warwick 30 - 8 3rds.

Birmingham A

The Thirds decided to mix up their tactics in their final match against the UoB A team (eventfully, 2017 finalists), sending left-cover Ned Summers over to raid early in the match to stir up the opposing team. UoB responded with a show of strength, sending star-raider Vinay Gupta over the line. However, good defence from the Thirds saw him walk away with an empty raid. A series of aggressive raids from the UoB side saw the Thirds team cut down to two. Assuming this was a safe target, the UoB their left cover to raid. An ankle grab from co-captain Pete Gobbett and rapid support from Humzah Ali saw the UoB no.6 stopped dead in his tracks. The Thirds quickly capitalised on their newfound momentum, with Humzah successfully knocking out an over-eager Gupta in his next raid. A competitive second half followed, with successful raids from Jake Stewart and Neev Trehan. With UoB responding with the same competitiveness, something big needed to happen. That something big was a monster tackle from Summers and Stewart in a two-on-one raid. The move can only really be described properly as attempted murder, with the UoB no.3 retreating with a shaking head. Final score: UoB 34 - 9 3rds.