THE second Senior State Box Lacrosse Championship will be held from September 2 to 4 at Wings Sports Arena, opposite Bishop Cotton School, Civil Lines. The tournament is jointly organised under auspices of MaharashtraLacrosse Association and Nagpur District Lacrosse Association. Lacrosse, an Olympic sport that featured as a medal event in 1904 and 1908 and as a demonstration sport in 1928, 1932 and 1948, returns to the Olympic fold in the Sixes format at Los Angeles 2028. Indian men’s and women’s teams have delivered strong performances at the Asia Cup in Riyadh in 2025. “This championship will provide a strong platform for our senior players to showcase their skills and prepare for higher-level competitions. Lacrosse is steadily growing in Maharashtra and such events will further popularise the sport,” informed Maharashtra State Lacrosse Association President Dr Sumedha Thakur during a presser on Monday. Parbhani are the defending champions in the men’s category while Gondia hold the women’s title. Nagpur were second best in both categories in the last edition. Both Astha Dahikar and Mrunal Shamkuwar, who represented India in the Asia Cup, will be in action.

 

Astha will be city team’s vice-captain while Mrunal will mentor the teams. “We have received an overwhelming response with 28 men and 23 women teams from various districts. The league-cumknock-out format will ensure competitive matches and help identify talent for future national assignments,” Maharashtra State Lacrosse Association General Secretary Dr Mohammad Babar said. The championship will be inaugurated by MLC Ashish Deshmukh and Sandip Joshi. Matches will be played from 8 am to 8 pm every day and will be live-streamed on the Bas India YouTube channel. Sheikh Harun, Astha Dahikar and Dr Babulal Dhotre were present during the press conference. NAGPUR TEAMS Men: PratikTawreya (Captain), Ritesh Sute, Vipul Tagde, Mahat Potbhare, Swastik Giri, Saniy Dutthe, Yogendra Gautam, Bhavesh Mude, Mayur Sonkusre, Nitanshu Jambulkar and Krushna Palandurkar. Women: Samiksha Bhute (Captain), Sheetal Hulkar, Payal Bais, Divya Pisar, Palak Neware, AshwiniGharat, Ashwini, Divyani, Aastha Dahikar (ViceCaptain) and Diva.