Harpal Singh Bedi /New Delhi
Pratik Waikar stole the limelight as Pahadi Billas as Pahadi Billas overpowered Panthers 31-25 in a thrilling final to win the KKFI 2021 Super League Kho Kho Tournament here on Monday.
Earlier in the men’s semi-finals Panther beat Jaguars by eight points with scores 43-35 while Pahadi Billas thrashed Cheetahs by seven points (41-34) in the second semi-final.
The winners and runners-up team in the men’s event received 2 lakh and 1.50 lakh prize money respectively while third and fourth ranked teams bagged 50 thousand each. The women teams received 30 thousand each.
Three Maharashtra players picked the best achievement awards for their fine run in the tournament. Ramji Kashyap of Solapur was adjudged the Best Chaser and Thane’s Mahesh Shinde received the Best Runner Award with each of them receiving INR 50,000.
While the Best Wazir of the Championship Award and INR 75,000 was won by Abhinandan Patil of Kolhapur and P Siva Reddy of Andhra Pradesh was adjudged the Best Pole Diver and INR 50,000. Madhya Pradesh’s Sachin Bhargo won INR 50,000 for posing the best skydives in the championship.
In the summit clash played at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium , leading from the front skipper Waikar gave a solid all-round performance and guided his side to convincing six-point win.
The 25-year-old all-rounder from Maharashtra, who also played as a Wazir for the team and has been consistent throughout the tournament, once again proved his mettle as he defended for one minute and 50 seconds and then chased down 11 points for his team.
He found good support from his teammates Railway’s Nilesh Patil and Kerala’s Mahesh M. While Mahesh spent 1 minute and 40 seconds on the mat in defence, Nilesh impressed in the chase with six points.
West Bengal’s Subhasish Santra was key performer for the Panthers with his one minute 50 seconds in defence and eight points in the chase
In the women’s tournament, Panthers emerged as the winner with a dominating show throughout the tournament. On the final day they secured nine points win against Cheetahs to clinch their fourth successive victory and also the trophy with an unbeaten record.
The championship was played as part of the KKFI and Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK)-organised first-ever High-Performance Evaluation and Scientific Assessment training camp.