Kurukshetra, Feb 4(.) The 35th Sub Junior National Kho Kho Championship (Boys & Girls) 2025-26 concluded on Wednesday at Keshav Park in Kurukshetra with Maharashtra, the defending champion in girls’ category, outpacing Rajasthan by a margin of 12 points and an inning in a 27-15 final contest.
In boys’ category, Odisha defeated Kolhapur by a margin of 7 points and an inning in an action-packed 31-24 final contest.
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh secured joint third in boys’ category while Punjab and Haryana secured joint third position in girls’ category.
The Championship was organised by Haryana Sports Kho Kho Association (HSKKA) under the aegis of Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI). The national event was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Haryana Nayab Singh Saini on January 31.
Thirty one boys’ and as many girls’ teams from various states, union territories and three associate member associations- Kolhapur, Vidarbha and Madhya Bharat- participated in the championship.
“These young talents have a bright future. The KKFI is committed to providing them all support including best-in-class training and facilities. I congratulate all the participants including winners for making the sub-junior championship a success,” said Sudhanshu Mittal, President, KKFI.
“I announce a prize of Rs 25,000 to the winning teams, Rs 20,000 to the teams who secured second position and Rs 15,000 to the third rank teams. For the Haryana girls team who came third, I announce a prize of Rs 1 lakh” said Jawahar Singh Yadav, President of Haryana Sports Kho Kho Association (HSKKA).
In girls’ category, Rahi Patil of Maharashtra was adjudged best defender, Gunjan of Rajasthan was awarded best attacker while Aparna Varde of Maharashtra was crowned with ILA Award for being the best all rounder.
In boys’ category, best defender went to Varad of Maharashtra, best attacker to Gaurav Mane of Kolhapur and Bharat Award for best all rounder in boys’ to Satya Ranjan Behara of Odisha.
Present on the occasion were General Secretary of KKFI Upkar Singh Virk,
President of Haryana Sports Kho Kho Association (HSKKA) Jawahar Singh Yadav, General Secretary of HSKKA Mehender Kamboj, Rajkumar Saini, President, Kurukshetra Kho Kho Association, Sunita Khatri, Deputy Director, Sports Department, Govt. of Haryana, and others.
The 34th Sub Junior National Kho Kho Championship was held from September 28- October 2, 2024 at Simdega, Jharkhand in which Maharashtra bagged the title in both boys’ and girls’ categories.
. .