Githurai Cheetahs, JKUAT Starlets win Kabaddi League titles as season two wraps up

The Kenya Kabaddi Premier League closed its second season in style on Sunday at Kasarani Stadium, with Githurai Cheetahs and JKUAT Starlets crowned champions in the men's and women's finals, respectively.

In the men's final, Githurai Cheetahs edged Black Falcons 33-31 in a tense match that went down to the wire. Both teams traded raids and tackles throughout, but Githurai's defence held firm in the closing minutes to secure the two-point victory and lift the KKPL trophy.

The women's final saw JKUAT Starlets defeat the University of Nairobi 24-19 to claim the title.

Speaking after the match, JKUAT Starlets coach Chrispine Mageto attributed the win to consistency and hard work.

"It was a very young team when we started two years ago, but the girls have been coming to training, working hard and putting in more effort," Mageto said.

He noted that several players from the team had progressed to the national setup, including members of the Junior National Team that competed in Uganda last December.

"Most of our girls were part of the Junior National Team that travelled to Uganda last December. We are very happy they came back and that we've finished the league strongly, just as we started," he said.

He added that they had taken four girls to that championship in December and expected even more opportunities going forward, noting that kabaddi has grown and now has a home at JKUAT.

KKPL director Mudaspark Otieno, for his part, praised the growth of the league in its second season, which began in August last year and featured over 170 men's matches and more than 70 women's matches.

"We are in our second season, and today was the final match for both the ladies and the gentlemen. Where we were last year is definitely not where we are this year. Through activities such as the league, kabaddi is growing day by day," Otieno said.

With the domestic season now concluded, attention shifts to international competition. Kenya's men's national team will travel to Zanzibar on the 31st for the Africa Cup of Nations, which doubles as a qualifier for the sixth Men's Kabaddi World Cup.

Otieno confirmed that Kenya's senior men's and women's teams will also travel to India in October for the Commonwealth Demonstration Games, before competing at the African Beach Kabaddi Championship in Dodoma, Tanzania, in December.

"The men's national team is travelling to Zanzibar on the 31st for the Africa Cup of Nations, which is a World Cup qualifier," he said.