Telugu Yoddhas registered a thrilling 46-44 victory over Mumbai Khiladis, while defending champions Odisha Juggernauts defeated Rajasthan Warriors 35-27 in the 2023-24 Ultimate Kho Kho season opener at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
Rahul Mandal (14 points) scored the most points for Telugu Yoddhas in an action-packed game, while Pratik Warikar also notched up 10 points to take his team to a close win.
Telugu Yoddhas were offered to chase first after losing the toss and used the opportunity to the full effect as they earned 24 points by getting all four batches out in the first turn. Pratik Waikar and Milind Chavrekar scored six points each to give their team a perfect start in the match.
Mumbai Khiladis responded with fierce attacking intent and took a lead in the match by clinching 26 points in the second turn. Ankit Pote’s swift moments proved to be a nuisance for the Telugu team as he got six points through two pole dives and a skydive. Gajanan Shengal also earned six points in the first innings.
The second innings also saw a positive performance from Telugu Yoddhas as they got 22 points and left Mumbai Khiladis to chase 21 points to register a win which proved too much for Pote’s side.
Defending champs start with win
Earlier, Akshay Masal contributed to the Odisha Juggernauts’ win by scoring 8 points, while Rohan Shingade, Avinash Desai, and Gowtham MK stayed on the mat for more than 4 minutes to take their team to a win over Rajasthan Warriors.
The Juggernauts began the game positively as they claimed a total of 16 points during the first turn. They played equally well when they switched to defence and earned two dream points, allowing Rajasthan to get only 10 points in the first innings to strengthen their grip on the match.
Odisha were on top of their game in the second inning as well despite Rajasthan earning a dream run.
The defending champions got 16 points in the third turn, while Rajasthan managed to pick up 17 points with Majahar Jamadar clinching four points through two skydives. However, it wasn’t enough to bring them back into the game.