Railways deny Maharashtra double in National Kho Kho

MUMBAI: Maharashtra hopes of a double were dashed when Indian Railways edged the men 16-15 after the women had beaten holders Puducherry 12-4 to regain the title in the 44th Senior National Kho-Kho Championships which concluded at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
The men’s match was fast paced and well contested as both sides went hammer and tongs at each other.It was the slightly superior speed, strength and staying power of Railways that proved decisive. Puducherry failed to live up to the champions tag and surrendered meekly losing as many as 12 players while defending first. Maharashtra then defended admirably losing just 2 players per innings to seal a comprehensive win.
The winners and runners up in both the sections received cash award of Rs.1 lac and Rs.50 thousand respectively, the first time in the history of the game ever offered by Viyom Foundation who hosted the championships. There were cash awards also for the 3rd and the 4th place teams of Rs.25 thousand and Rs.10 thousand respectively. Andhra and Karnataka amongst the men and Kerala and Punjab finished in that order in the men’s and women’s section.
Vikas Shirgaokar led from the front for the Railways by defending for 1.20 and 1.40 mins., and claiming 2 victims. He received good support from Tejas Jadhav (1.50 mins. and 4 victims) and Kunal Wairkar (1.10 mins and 1.30 mins).
For Maharashtra Manoj Vaidya tried to avert the inevitable with his defensive play. He stayed for 1.40 mins and 2.20 mins besides claiming 4 victims. When he got out, Railways equalled the score 15-15. The others who fought ferociously but lost respectably were Tejas Siraskar (2.25 mins.), Manoj Pawar (1.30 mins, and 3 victims) and Saket Jeste (1.30 and 1.50 mins). Tejas in particular was a victim of a bad decision in the 2nd innings. Had he stayed a bit longer, Railways would have found it a little bit difficult to retain the crown. In the end Jeste’s leg injury maybe turned the tide against the host side who may have benefitted by resting their attackers just before the finale’
Best Player:
Amol Jadhav – Railway, Shilpa Jadhav – Maharashtra
Best Defender:
Vikas Shirgaokar – Railway, Sarika Kale – Maharashtra.
Best Attacker:
Manoj Pawar – Maharashtra, Sonia Mithbavkar – Maharashtra.