More players should take up Indian traditional sports: Kho Kho player Abhinandan Patil says

More players should take up Indian traditional sports: Kho Kho player Abhinandan Patil says

More Players Should Take Up Indian Traditional Sports: Pune (Maharashtra) [India], August 23, 2022 (ANI): Kho Kho player Abhinandan Patil on Tuesday said that more players should participate in Indian traditional sports.

Abhinandan is a name from the sport of Kho Kho. He is a part of the Ultimate Kho Kho League appearing in season one. This is the country’s first-ever franchise-based league for the sport. He is a member of the team Gujarat Giants.

“More players should take up traditional Indian sports and they must receive more players. It has happened with Kabbadi, it is happening with Kho Kho right now. We feel that Kho Kho must go only up from here. Kho Kho is in Asian Games now and more people are showing interest in it,” said Abhinandan in an interview.

He agrees with the fact that more Indian traditional sports should get leagues of their own. He wants something like an Olympics or Commonwealth Games sporting event. These events should be dedicated solely to traditional Indian sports.

Abhinandan expressed happiness and delight with his team’s performance in Ultimate Kho Kho.

“Our performance has been really good. We won our first three matches and the boys played really well. However, in the fourth match, some of our players got injured and our attack was disturbed. We lost that match. We still fought in it and captured a point. That is why we are at the top,” he said.

Gujarat Giants is positioned at top of the table in Ultimate Kho Kho. The team leads with ten points and three wins in four games.

He is very proud of his own individual performances. Patil credits the support from his team for his success.

Abhinandan opines that Ultimate Kho Kho is a game changer with its new rules and formats.

“Earlier, Kho Kho had nine players (on field). This Ultimate Kho Kho league is different. (It has seven players on the field). Earlier, there used to be one point on dive and pole dive. Here, it is three points for each. This has led to an increase in the points tally. People are interested in playing Ultimate Kho Kho. It will bring youngsters to the sport and it has got interesting. The main factor is ‘Wazir’, a role that I am playing.”

Wazir is a player who acts as an active chaser and can run in any direction. Abhinandan is positioned as the second-best Wazir in the tournament so far with 35 points.

Abhinandan reminisced his school days when he realized his admiration for the sport. He used to be a multi-talented sportsperson back then, practicing swimming and athletics.

“When I was in school, I loved to see my seniors playing Kho Kho. They used to dive and pole dive. I used to swim as well but did not pursue it further. But when I played Kho Kho, it seemed really interesting to me. I was also into athletics. I was really quick. That is why I chose Kho Kho,” he said.

The player said that he got a lot of support from his family. His coaches and credits encouraged his appearances at international events like the South Asian Games 2019. He won a gold medal in that tournament.

Abhinandan said that those who are interested to learn Kho Kho should study it. They should practice it properly. According to him, Kho Kho needs a lot of energy and endurance to play.