How Maharashtra's sports culture produces talented Kho Kho players? Coach Ashwani Kumar Sharma reveals

The inaugural Kho Kho World Cup will be held in 2025 in New Delhi.

The Kho Kho World Cup 2025 which is scheduled to take place in Delhi between 13th January to 19th January 2025 is less than a month away now and preparations for the global event are going in full flow.

In build up to the multi-nation tournament, Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) is conducting an intensive training camp at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium which comprises of 60 male and as many female players taking part in it.

The final squad for the World Cup will be picked on the basis of players’ performance in the camp. A total of 15 men and 15 women players will be selected to represent India in the competition.

Coach Ashwani Kumar Sharma talked about the importance of this camp and how difficult it would for him and the other coaching members to pick and choose players for the World Cup.

“First of all, I want to thank Sudhanshu Mittal sir and M.S. Tyagi sir for the kind of support that they have shown towards to the sport. Talking about this camp, it’s an opportunity for the players to showcase their talent and skillset and be a part of the squad that will represent India in the World Cup.

Also Read: Kho Kho World Cup 2025: Twenty-four nations from six continents to compete for title

“We have picked players who have performed exceptionally well in the Nationals for this camp. There are 60 players in each category, and we will be choosing 15 out of them for the final squads,” Ashwani said.

The coach also explained how club culture in Maharashtra has been helpful in boosting more talent in the state.  

“A lot of talent comes from states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Haryana. We have some brilliant players from Maharashtra purely because Kho Kho is very popular as a sport there. No matter what, each and every kid plays the sport in that region.

“Also, there is club culture in Maharashtra which creates some good rivalry among the players to do well that eventually helps Kho Kho on the whole.”

Also Read: Son of newspaper seller, Aditya Ganpule eyes spot in inaugural Kho Kho World Cup in India

“Moreover, the Kho Kho players get good job options which creates a sense of security among the players. Each player of the team that wins the national gets INR 7 lakh in prize money. Also, the Shiv Chhatrapati Award is a prestigious annual sports award given by the Government of Maharashtra to recognize the achievements of athletes and sports contributors in the state.

“So, this all adds up and we get to see so many good players from Maharashtra,” he added.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram