Sonali Helvi: The Gamechanger

The Indian Central Government in associate with Maharashtra State Government has organized 2nd Khelo India Youth games at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune. Kabaddi’s matches have been started from Monday (14th January).

Maharashtra U-21 Girls Kabaddi Team has won all their matches in the league stage. The one who has consistently performed for them is their skipper Sonali Helvi. She has led the team from the front. Today Maharashtra outperformed Uttar Pradesh 38-23. Sonal returned with 23 raid points and 1 tackle point.

Yesterday (15th January) Maharashtra’s Under-21 girls thrashed Andhra Pradesh 31-19. For Maharashtra, their skipper Sonali Helvi did well to help build up a 12-9 lead with some good tackles and great raids. She had a Super 10 against West Bengal and with that Maharashtra defeated them 33-27.

Hailing from Satara, Sonali lost her father in her childhood. Her mother and elder raised her. Due to not well financial conditions, Sonali’s mother wanted her to do a job. But Sonali was fond of sports. She started participating in Athletics school games. Her family opposed her for that.

Sonali got the same reaction from her family when she started playing Kho-Kho. Due to this she started playing Kabaddi but without informing her family. She won the gold medal at Junior National Kabaddi Championships. She got praised for her achievement, and so son her family also did not oppose her for playing Kabaddi.

Sonali practices at Shivaji Uday Mandal, Satara who bears all her financial requirements for Kabaddi. Along with her studies, she practices three times a day i.e. 5 am to 8 am, 3 pm to 5 pm and 6 pm to 8 pm. Regular exercises, practice and balanced diets such as Bhaji and Bhakri is her daily routine.

In recently held Women’s section of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chashak Kabaddi Tournament Pune VS Satara match, Sonali Helvi surpassed a record of scoring most raid points in a single match which was created by Pardeep Narwal in the fifth season of Pro Kabaddi League.

In the eliminator match of PKL 5 against Haryana Steelers, Patna Pirate’s skipper Pardeep Narwal scored 34 raid points. This was the highest individual score. Whereas Sonali picked up 36 raid points in the match against Pune. She scored 26 touch touches and 10 bonus points.

Sonali is an aggressive raider and also an all-rounder. With her agility, she is a master in scoring Bonus points. Sonali has played 10 National Games and also captained them. This Satara’s top Kabaddi player and captain Sonali has represented Maharashtra and her district at different levels like Junior, Sub Junior, School, University and Khelo India and also has captained the team.

With her all-round skills and leadership qualities, Maharashtra Kabaddi fans must be expecting a lot from her!