New Delhi: Deepak Madhav, who participated in the KKFI 2021 Super League Kho Kho Tournament, said that Kho Kho is no longer limited to Maharashtra as the sport is gaining popularity across the country.
Maharashtra's Pratik Waikar continued his spectacular show at the KKFI 2021 Super League Kho Kho Tournament as Pahadi Billas lifted the trophy with a convincing six points win in the thrilling final against Panthers here on Monday.
In the summit clash played at the gleaming Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here, leading from the front skipper Waikar dished out a solid all-round performance and guided his side to 31-25 win.
"I am playing Kho-Kho for the last 14 years when I started playing there was no opportunity in this game as we are having now. This game is now not limited to Maharashtra as it gained popularity across the country," Madhav told ANI.
Talking about his family background, Madhav explained his journey to the sport and the difficulties he faced to pursue the unpopular game.
"My family condition was mot well, my father was ill, my mother is a housewife and brother used to work so I also helped my family by distributing newspapers and used to distribute milk also," he said.
"When I started playing, I decided that I will build my career in sports only. I gave trials for Railways but was not selected. I did not lose hope and kept trying. People used to tell me that I should stop playing and focus on studies but I did not hear them and when the fourth time I gave my trials I got selected for Railways," Madhav added.
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Kho Kho Federation of India president Sudhanshu Mittal also echoed Madhav's sentiments and added their next step is to include Kho Kho in the Olympics.
"Kho Kho is an indigenous sport that is getting recognition on the international platform. Olympic Committee of Asia has accredited the sport as an Asian game. Currently, we are working in 36 countries and we will reach 70 countries in one year. Our next step is to include Kho Kho in the Olympics which we will succeed," he said.
"It is a sport which every Indian has played and when it will get played globally it will give joy to a lot of people," he added.
When asked about is Kho Kho Sports Code implementation, Mittal said, "We are fully compliant with Sports Code but my personal thought is that there is only one solution to all the problems which is not good. Because every sport has a different administration process and there are some elite games that are not spread throughout the country."
"So, I think every sports administration process should be made according to the popularity of that sport. Second, we should make rules according to the international federation which was overlooked in the Sports Code," he added.
