The 31st Sub Junior National Kho Kho Championship which were conducted at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Nangal Road, Himachal Pradesh concluded recently. . Maharashtra created a history by retaining their Boy’s crown while the Girl’s took a befitting revenge for last year’s loss. Maharashtra Boys’ won the title for the 10th time while the Girl’s won it for the 15th time. The best players of this tournament is were Ashish Gautam (Bharat Awardee) and Sanika Chafe (Ila Awardee).
Sanika Chafe
In the Boy’s Final match Maharashtra won by 10-06 and an inning to spare against Karnataka. Maharashtra’s Ashish Gautam (2.10, 3.10 min defence & 1 wicket), Jitendra Wasave (2.00, 1.30 min defence), Haradhya Wasave (1.20, 2.00 min defence & 2 wickets), Atharva Patil (1.30 min not out defence), Mohan Chavan (3 wickets), Raj Jadhav (2 wickets), and Captain Sotya Walvi (2 wickets). Pritham from Karnataka defended for 1.10 min & took 2 wickets while P. Gurubat (1.00 min defence & 1 wicket) & V. Samartha (1.10 min defence) supported the team. Maharashtra Team’s Coach Prafull Hatavate, Manager Mandar Parab and Physio Kiran Wagh congratulated the team and said its a team effort.
Ashish Gautam
Maharashtra Girls defeated Punjab by a margin of 8 points & an inning to spare with a scoreline of 11-03. Coach Ejas Shaikh mentioned that training the girls after a gap of almost 2 years was a herculean task but the girls played like winners. Sanika Chafe played a Captains innings (5.50, 3.10 min not out & 4 wickets), Sushma Chaudhari (not out 1.10, 2.50 min defence & 1 wicket), Dhanashree Kank (1.00 min defence), Ankita Deokar (4 wickets), Dhanashree Kare (1 wicket), Samruddhi Patil (1 wicket) played a vital role in winning the match. From Punjab, Snehapreet Kaur (1.30 min defence & 1 wicket) and Sanjana Devi (1.30 min defence) tried their best to support their team. Maharashtra’s Coach Ejas Shaikh and Manager Priyanka Chavan expressed happiness and contentment after the victory.
Kho Kho Federation of India Jt. Secretary, Chandrajit Jadhav and Maharashtra Kho Kho Association Secretary Govind Sharma expressed gratitude towards the efforts put in by Coaches, Managers & the Support staff in building in this team.
Earlier in the semi finals, Maharashtra Team beat Haryana 13-07 in the boy’s section while the Girl’s defeated Delhi 10-06.