Railways, Maha dominate; TG women bow out of National Sr Kho-Kho C’ship; quarters today
Hanumakonda
Defending champions Railways and Maharashtra continued their commanding run in the 58th National Senior Kho-Kho Championship being held at the Kazipet Railway Stadium, asserting their supremacy as the tournament entered its crucial knockout phase. The competition has witnessed high-quality action and intense rivalry, with quarterfinal matches scheduled to be played from Wednesday morning.
The third day’s matches on Tuesday were inaugurated by Telangana State Kho-Kho Association President Janga Raghava Reddy, Kho-Kho Federation of India General Secretary Upkar Singh, State General Secretary Nathi Krishna Murthy, officials from the Sports and Youth Services Departments Guguloth Ashok Kumar and Nadipelli Sudhakar Rao, senior coach Yatiraj, and Warangal District Kho-Kho Association General Secretary Thota Shyam Prasad.
In the women’s section, defending champions Maharashtra registered a thumping 44–10 victory over Uttar Pradesh, underlining their title credentials. Other teams to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals included Kolhapur, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Airports Authority of India, and Delhi following their respective league victories.
In the men’s section, defending champions Railways secured a convincing 39–12 win over Puducherry to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals. Karnataka defeated host Telangana 24–19 after leading 15–9 at halftime. Karnataka’s G. Sunil impressed with a 2.30-minute defensive timing and four points, while Telangana players T. Nirikshan, Jaikumar, and G. Dinesh showed grit in defense. Captain Rakesh scored four points in chasing. Telangana will face Andhra Pradesh in the quarterfinals.
Other notable men’s league results saw Kerala defeat Delhi 28–23, West Bengal beat Chhattisgarh 27–21, Andhra Pradesh edge past Tamil Nadu 28–25, Maharashtra overcome Uttar Pradesh 24–15, Kolhapur defeat Gujarat 29–22, and Odisha beat Vidarbha 25–11 to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for the host Telangana women’s team, which was eliminated in the league stage. Placed in Group D, the team managed just one win from three matches. Lack of coordination and inability to capitalize on crucial moments proved costly. Telangana began on a positive note with a dominant 36–4 victory over Puducherry, where K. Rukmini starred with a 4.10-minute defensive timing and two points. However, narrow defeats to Rajasthan (20–22) and Delhi (14–21) sealed their exit, despite notable performances by Akhila, Anusha, and Srilakshmi.
