"I decided that I will play for the Telugu Yoddhas next year and win them the tournament" - UKK fanboy-turned-player Aditya Ganpule on his aspirations

Aditya Ganpule is plying his trade for the Telugu Yoddhas at the Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 and has become a household name quite quickly. At just 21 years of age, he has won the Best Defender of the Match award four times so far in the ongoing season.

Aditya has battled a lot of challenges on his way to becoming a kho kho superstar. With his father being a newspaper seller, he had to initially deal with financial difficulties.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Aditya Ganpule opened up on his journey which started from him watching the Ultimate Kho Kho in the stadium to later becoming a renowned player of the league. Read excerpts from the interview below:

Q: Can you describe how your journey has been? How did you get into the sport?

Aditya Ganpule: I was in the fifth grade when there was an inter-class athlete competition. I won gold in the 100m race. The day I won that medal, my brother's kho kho coach asked him to call me. From that day on, I was selected for the sport and represented my school and my club in Kho Kho.

I played seven state-level tournaments and five national-level tournaments. Thereon, I played the senior nationals and made my way to Ultimate Kho Kho. The biggest challenge was playing the senior nationals since it was very difficult.

Q: Did you receive support from your family in pursuing the sport?

Aditya Ganpule: When I was younger, I did not play too much. However, after playing my first nationals, my family started supporting me. Earlier my brother supported me and later, everyone did.

Q: You are playing against your brother - Akshay Ganpule - in this tournament. How does it feel to go up against him?

Aditya Ganpule: It felt good to play against him since he has taught me a lot. I got him out as well and that felt good. I got the prize of the Best Defender in the match. He congratulated me and told me how I needed to remain consistent and maintain this form.

Q: What has been your favorite moment of the competition?

Aditya Ganpule: The best moment for me was when we played Odisha Juggernauts in December. It was a very tight match and there was no certain winner. At the very end, Avdhut Patil was deemed to be out but he reviewed it and it went in our favor. So that was a really good match.

Q: Looking ahead, you have your semifinal game against the Chennai Quick Guns. What does the team have in store?

Aditya Ganpule: Our semifinal match is against the Chennai Quick Guns. The match will be a good one but I am confident that we will win the match. We play against each time with a different strategy.

I had gone to see the final last year in Pune where Odisha Juggernauts won by 1 point. That's when I decided that I would play for the Telugu Yoddhas next year and win the tournament.