Kho Kho nationals set to take off in Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: After the stupendous success of the Indian teams at the South Asian Games in which they won double gold, high-level Kho Kho action is back with the 53rd Senior National Kho Kho Championship (Men & Women) 2019-20 to be held at the Allons Public School in Bemetara in Chhattisgarh from December 26 to 30.

Organized by the Chhattisgarh Amateur Kho Kho Association under the aegis of the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI), the high-profile event will see 33 men’s teams and 31 women’s teams vying for the respective titles, said a press release issued here.

The Nationals has added importance this time as the probables for the upcoming Asian Championships will also be selected from the teams at the Nationals.

“We’ll be looking at finding the best probables for the Asian Championships from the Nationals as right after the tournament, we’ll be announcing the dates for the national camp as well as the Indian squad,” said M. S. Tyagi, General Secretary, Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI).

Kho Kho powerhouse and defending champions Maharashtra will look to assert their dominance further by continuing their winning streak in both the men’s and women’s sections. However, it won’t be a cakewalk this time with the Railways, Kolhapur and Kerala launching strong squads as well in the men’s section. In women’s, Maharashtra will have to stave off the challenge from Kerala, Odisha and Delhi, besides the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Having lost the final narrowly to Maharashtra by a slender margin of one point, AAI will go out all guns blazing to taste glory this time and Captain Nasreen is leaving no stone unturned.

“We want to go all out so we had come here earlier in order to train harder. We’ll give our best to get the gold we missed narrowly last year,” said the skipper, who also captained the Indian national women’s team to the South Asian Games gold.

On the men’s side, Railways will be upbeat to grab the gold after succumbing to Maharashtra in the summit clash in the last edition. With four gold medals in the last six years and two players from the South Asian Games gold medal-winning squad in the team, the Railways certainly know a thing or two about winning.

“Our fitness gave in last time and this time we have worked hard on it. While the aim is to win, it will also be important that each of us plays well with the Asian Championships coming up,” said Amit Patil from the Railways. While the league stage matches are scheduled from December 26-28, the knock-out rounds will follow with the grand finale taking place on December 30. (IANS)

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