New Delhi: There were bells, drums, the Nashik Dhol, the crowd humming ‘India waale’ on the song. The Indian men’s kho kho team jumped into the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex to join the likes of Pabani, Suyash and Ramji Kashyap, the last batch of defenders dodging against Nepal and then the whistle blows for the venue to fizz euphoric elements.
The Pratik Waikar-led team defeated Nepal by a comfortable margin of 54-36. This was the first clash of the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup where Nepal had given a good run to India for their money with the hosts edging past a 42-37 win then.
The impression was that Nepal would be the only mighty contenders who could deny India the historic feat. The Men in Blue embraced the challenge to push their Asian neighbours off the block with Pratik Waikar, Ramji Kashyap showed excellence in the attack but Bharat Sahu was the man to tag to get Nepal on the backfoot. And that worked, the moment Bharat was off the mat, Nepal defence fall like a pack of cards.
But Bharat ensured to keep the Indians under control from clinching enough points, only 26 in the first turn. Nepal wasn’t able to match India’s intensity but Janak Chand and Suraj Pujara tagged in intervals to cut the deficit to 18-26 at the end of 14 minutes.
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The Indians went full throttle with their attacking strategy with Pratik Waikar absence for the first three and a half minutes. Aditya Ganpule, Aniket Pote, and Mehul were at the helm of tagging the Nepalese players. Bharat once again ensured to stay on the mat for the first two minutes until Aniket put on a brilliant sky-diving effort to dismiss him.
That’s where India capitalised to get three batches of defenders out. Nepal were in need to remove a total of six Indian batches of defenders to claim the title. Waikar, Akash and Siva cut through the open space to keep avoiding any contact on them. India were relentless with their strategy and managed to hold Nepal with a 18-point lead in the final result. The players jumped in jubilance and surrounded in circle for the celebration dance.
The Pratik Waikar-led team defeated Nepal by a comfortable margin of 54-36. This was the first clash of the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup where Nepal had given a good run to India for their money with the hosts edging past a 42-37 win then. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
