Khelo India 2019, Kho-kho: Hosts Maharashtra complete golden sweep

Pune, January 17: Hosts Maharashtra completed a clean sweep of gold medals in the boys and girls under-17 and under-21 kho-kho competition at Khelo India Youth Game 2019 here in Pune.

Kerala finished with two silver medals, both in the under-21 category. Delhi (girls under-17) and Andhra Pradesh (boys under-17) were the other silver medalists.

Barring the Boys Under-17 final against Andhra Pradesh, the hosts Maharashtra were made to fight in all the other finals, but in the end, they came through victorious amidst massive cheering from the local crowds.

In an enthralling under-17 girls’ final, Maharashtra beat Delhi 19-17 as the match was decided through an extra innings which Maharashtra won 7-5, after both teams were level at the end of the second innings.

Deeksha Sonsurkar’s five points did the trick for Maharashtra, while Kiran Shinde’s 3.20 minutes and Shruti Shinde’s 3.30 minutes in defence helped their cause. Somya and Divya’s three points each for Delhi kept them in the game but could not fetch them a win.

The story in the under-17 boys’ final was very different as Maharashtra thumped Andhra Pradesh 19-8, dominating proceedings in both innings.

Rushikesh Shinde and Saurabh Ahir scored seven chasing points between them, while Chandu Charare repeated his performance from the semi-final with three points. Aditya Ganpule and Dilip Khandvi spent 3.10 minutes each in defence in the first and second innings respectively.

In the under-21 girls final, Kerala fought back from a 2-7 deficit but Maharashtra held their nerve to prevail 7-6 and won their third final of the day. Kajal Bhor’s three chasing points and Priyanka Bhopi’s impressive 4.40 minutes in defence in the first innings proved crucial for the hosts.

The under-21 boys final was another topsy-turvy contest that saw frequent shifts in momentum before Maharashtra prevailed 15-13 to grab their fourth gold medal of the day. Maharashtra trailed 0-6 in the first innings, but soon found form and struck back. Three points each from Arun Gunaki and Shubham Utekar led Maharashtra’s charge, while Sribin K.P. was Kerala’s top-scorer with four points.

The results

Girls under-17: Final: Maharashtra beat Delhi 19-17; Bronze - Gujarat and Punjab

Boys under-17 Final: Maharashtra beat Andhra Pradesh 19-8; Bronze: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

Girls under-21 Final: Maharashtra beat Kerala 7-6; Bronze: Odisha and Delhi

Boys under-21 Final: Maharashtra beat Kerala 15-13; Bronze: Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh