Karnataka Boys and Maharashtra Girls Win Junior National Kho Kho Championships
Dr. Shrikrishna Sharma
New Delhi. The Karnataka boys’ team defeated Maharashtra in the final of the 44th Junior National Kho Kho Championship held in Gunjur, Bengaluru, to win the title. Meanwhile, Maharashtra successfully defended its title in the girls’ category by defeating Odisha. The Karnataka team won the boys’ title by defeating Maharashtra 35-30. In the girls’ category, Maharashtra retained its title by defeating Odisha 34-33. In the boys’ semi-finals, Maharashtra defeated Kolhapur 33-31, while Karnataka defeated Central India 33-20 to reach the final. In the girls’ semi-finals, Maharashtra defeated Punjab 28-14 and Odisha defeated Kolhapur 29-27 to qualify for the final.
In this championship, Sneha Lamkane (Maharashtra) received the ‘Janaki Award’ in the girls’ category, while B. Vijay (Karnataka) was honored with the ‘Veer Abhimanyu Award’ in the boys’ category. Among the finalist teams, Diksha Katekar (Maharashtra) was awarded Best Attacker and Archana Pradhan (Odisha) was awarded Best Defender in the girls’ category. Raj Jadhav (Maharashtra) received the Best Attacker award and Prajwal Y. (Karnataka) received the Best Defender award in the boys’ category.
The upcoming 58th Senior National Kho Kho Championship (Men and Women) 2025-26 will be held from January 11-15 in Kazipet, Telangana. The 35th Sub-Junior National Kho Kho Championship (Boys and Girls) 2025-26 will be held from January 31 to February 4 in Kurukshetra, Haryana. Regarding this Junior National Kho Kho Championship, Sudhanshu Mittal, President of the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI), said, “I congratulate all the participants, the winning teams, and the runners-up. The Junior Nationals is a crucial platform for identifying, nurturing, and encouraging young talent.” Dr. M.S. Tyagi, Chairman, Organization and Administration, KKFI, said, “Championships like the Junior Nationals are essential for providing young players with competitive experience and fostering discipline, teamwork, and professionalism.”
Upkar Singh Virk, General Secretary of KKFI, said, “The pan-India participation reflects the strong grassroots presence of Kho Kho. These young athletes have a bright future, and more youngsters are coming forward to pursue a career in this sport.” Lokeshwara, President of the Karnataka State Kho Kho Association, said, “It is a matter of pride for us to have successfully hosted the Junior National Championship. We focused on smooth organization, fair competition, and a positive experience for all the teams and officials.” (Sports Editor)
