Waikar to steer Indian males’s group in Kho Kho WC

Pratik Waikar.
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association

Kho kho has been part of Pratik Waikar’s life for the reason that age of eight. The sport might need begun as a enjoyable exercise or a welcome distraction from teachers throughout his college hours, however succeeding in it because the years handed has propelled the 32-year-old from Pune to changing into the captain of the Indian males’s group for the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup.

The event, which will probably be held on the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from January 13 to 19, kicks off with host India taking up Nepal after Pakistan was omitted from the listing of collaborating nations because of visa points.

The management position underlines Waikar’s standing as among the finest kho kho gamers within the nation. Moreover being a part of the nationwide group since 2016, when it received gold within the South Asian Video games, he has starred for Telugu Yoddhas in Final Kho Kho.

“I used to be anticipating to be named captain, however it’s a very large duty to steer the nation within the World Cup. I hope to stay as much as the expectations. I’d need the complete group to play with self-discipline and focus and win the event,” Waikar instructed The Hindu after India’s males’s and girls’s squads had been introduced on Thursday. “It is a big alternative for all of the gamers. The hope now’s for kho kho to turn into a worldwide sport and get lots of recognition.”

Whereas Waikar sensed an nearly on the spot reference to this indigenous sport at school, the choice to turn into an expert kho kho participant wasn’t easy. From the dearth of thrilling alternatives to monetary uncertainties, the person from Maharashtra had rather a lot to weigh up.

“Earlier, there wasn’t monetary help in kho kho. Individuals would say this isn’t an expert sport. By way of jobs and prize cash, different sports activities had been far forward. So, there was resistance,” he defined.

“My goal then was to simply signify my State and see how issues go. However the curiosity stored growing. I used to be additionally getting success and so I continued. Proper after I turned 18, I obtained a job within the Maharashtra State Electrical energy Board. So my mother and father had been completely happy and so they by no means stopped me from taking part in kho kho after that.”

The ladies’s group, in the meantime, will probably be led by Priyanka Ingle. The 24-year-old additionally hails from Pune. India can even area one extra group every within the males’s and girls’s sections.

The squads: Males: Pratik Waikar (capt.), Prabani Sabar, Mehul, Sachin Bhargo, Suyash Gargate, Ramji Kashyap, Siva Pothir Reddy, Aditya Ganpule, Gowtham M.Ok., Nikhil B, Akash Kumar, Subramani V., Suman Barman, Aniket Pote, S. Rokeson Singh.

Girls: Priyanka Ingle (capt.), Ashwini Shinde, Reshma Rathore, Bhilar Devjibhai, Nirmala Bhati, Neeta Devi, Chaithra R., Subhashree Sing, Magai Majhi, Anshu Kumari, Vaishnavi Bajrang, Nasreen Shaikh, Meenu, Monika, Nazia Bibi.