KATHMANDU, Jan 19: Both the men’s and women’s national kho kho teams of Nepal made history on Saturday by reaching the finals of the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup being held in India. This is the first time that any Nepali team has reached the finals of any world cup event.
The women’s team advanced to the finals by triumphing 89-18 over Uganda in the first semi-final of the women’s category, while the men’s team defeated Iran 72-20 in the first semi-final of the men’s category. Both of the matches were played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Hall in New Delhi on Saturday.
The women's team continued its excellent performance in the tournament, maintaining a 100 percent record in their six games. Reaching the final of any sports world cup is a big deal for Nepal. In addition, reaching the finals of the Kho Kho World Cup undefeated is a feat that only the women’s national kho kho team has achieved.
Nepali women, men enter semis of Kho Kho World Cup
They defeated Uganda with a dominating display in the first semi-final match. Puja Odd was awarded the best player of the match, Dipa BK was awarded the best defender while Uganda’s Nagawa Dorothy was recognized as the best attacker of the match. The Nepali side will now play against India in the final at 7.15 pm Sunday after the host defeated South Africa in the semifinal.
The men’s team waltzed into the final of the world cup, posting a commanding 72-20 score against Iran in the semi-final. After being defeated by the hosts by a narrow margin of 42-37 in the first match of the group stage, the Nepali team has remained undefeated in all of their group stage games and the ensuing knockout fixtures.
In the semifinals, Janak Chand was awarded the player of the match and Suraj Pujara was declared the best defender of the match while Iran’s Mehrab was declared the best attacker in the match. Nepal will next face India in the title clash at 8.30 pm on Sunday.
In their journey to the final, the women’s team stood on top of the pile in Group C, entered the quarter-finals as the dark horse. They defeated Bhutan 93-24 in the first match, Germany 73-34 in the second match, Sri Lanka 110-10 in the third match, and Bangladesh 84-24 in the fourth match. They reached the semifinals by defeating Iran by an impressive margin of 103-8 points in the quarterfinals.
Similarly, the men’s team advanced to the knockout phase as the runner-ups in Group A, registering the highest point difference of 492 among all the participants in the group stage. They defeated Peru 80-34 in the second match, dominated Brazil 134-8 in the third match, and thumped Bhutan 98-8 in the final match of the group stage. They defeated Bangladesh 67-18 in the quarterfinals.
