Cuttack, January 5, 2024: Gujarat Giants became the second team to qualify for the semifinals of Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 with a commanding 46-22 victory over Rajasthan Warriors at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on Friday.
The 24-point gap was the largest margin of victory in Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2. An impressive attacking display saw eleven different players contribute attacking points to the Gujarat Giants tally.
Ultimate Kho Kho, promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India, became the first Indian sports league to secure Series A funding, courtesy the UK-based BNP Group.
Gujarat Giants, who won the toss and chose to defend first, had a good Turn 1 with their first two batches netting a combined three dream run points. They further solidified the advantage with a superb attacking display in Turn 2. Rajasthan Warriors’ first batch lasted a mere minute and 37 seconds. Their second and third batches both fared only marginally better as Gujarat Giants carried an impressive 17-point lead into the second innings. It was truly a team effort from the Gujarat Giants attackers as seven different players managed to score attacking points.
Rajasthan Warriors needed a brilliant Turn 3 to salvage something from the match but things did not get any better for them. The first Gujarat Giants batch of captain Akshay Bhangare, Faizankha Pathan and Abhijit Patil scored two dream run points. The next batch of Ram Mohan, V Subramani and Rajvardhan Patil managed another dream point as Gujarat Giants took a virtually unassailable 30-20 lead into the final turn.
Rajasthan Warriors did get Turn 4 off to a decent start as the first batch of Vijay Hajare, Vrushab Wagh and Sushant Hajare scored two dream run points. However, it was too little too late as Gujarat Giants wrapped up a commanding victory.
In an earlier game, Telugu Yoddhas moved to the top of the Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 table with a 38-30 victory over Chennai Quick Guns. The result meant that Telugu Yoddhas became the first team to qualify for the semifinals.
Telugu Yoddhas attacked first and they got off to a flier, sending back Chennai Quick Guns’ first batch in just a minute and 43 seconds. Their second batch, which included the in-form Ramji Kashyap, only managed to fare marginally better, lasting a minute and 43 seconds.There was still more than two minutes left when the third batch returned to the bench. And when all three players of the fourth batch went off, there were still 37 seconds left on the clock. Not one of the four Chennai Quick Guns batches managed to last even two minutes. It was a stunning attacking turn from the Telugu Yoddhas as they led 24-0. The star of the show was Mandal with ten points, which included four sky dives and a pole dive.
Chennai Quick Guns got their quest for a recovery off to a good start in Turn 2 as the first Telugu Yoddhas batch lasted only two minutes and 41 seconds on the mat. However, their second batch of Dhruv, Mandal and Akash Togare frustrated the Chennai Quick Gun attackers, scoring a dream run point. Telugu Yoddhas went into the second innings with a 25-12 lead.
Despite a couple of dream run points in Turn 3, Chennai Quick Guns went into the final turn with a 23-point lead to overturn. It was a lead that Telugu Yoddhas managed to defend despite a good show by the Chennai Quick Guns attackers.
Saturday will see Gujarat Giants take on Odisha Juggernauts in the first game. Chennai Quick Guns will take on Mumbai Khiladis in the second game.
The exciting action of Ultimate Kho Kho will be telecast on Sony Sports Network’s channels and SonyLiv with live coverage of two matches daily starting at 7.30pm IST.
