New Delhi: The Indian women’s kho kho team secured their semi-final berth with a commanding 109-16 win over Bangladesh at the ongoing Kho Kho World Cup here on Friday. Led by captain Priyanka Ingle, the team showcased their dominance throughout all four turns, including an impressive Dream Run in Turn 2 that lasted for over five minutes.
India continued their remarkable streak of scoring 100+ points, making this their fifth consecutive match to cross the century mark in the tournament. The victory sets up an eagerly anticipated semi-final clash scheduled for Saturday.
India racked up 50 points in Turn 1 led by the experienced Nasreen Shaikh and Priyanka Ingle. The hosts continued their domination in Turn 2 as well, scoring a Dream Run right at the start through skipper Ingle, Ashwini Shinde, and Reshma Rathod.
The trio went on for five minutes and 36 seconds as they scored 6 points to take a more than substantial lead. At the end of Turn 2, the Bangladeshis managed only four simple touches as the score read 56-8 with two more turns remaining in the game.
Turn 3 saw India rule the mat once again, as they did not allow Bangladesh to settle into the game. A sky dive from Rathod brought up their fifth-straight 100 points in the tournament. At the end of Turn 3, in what could be better described as a mauling, the score read 106-8 with one turn left in the quarter-final game.
The dominance continued into the final turn, where India executed another impressive three-point Dream Run to seal the victory. Bangladesh struggled to find their rhythm throughout the match, managing only four simple touches in Turn 2 as India’s defense proved impenetrable. This meant India ended the match 109-16 to complete another one-sided romp.
In the men’s division, India defeated Sri Lanka 100-40 to enter semis. Led by the likes of Ramji Kashyap, Pratik Waikar, and Aditya Ganpule, India scored 58 points in Turn 1. They prevented the Sri Lankans from scoring a single point via Dream Runs, ensuring a strong start to the game at the end of the first turn. The Sri Lankans gave a better fight in Turn 2 but India’s handy lead gave them a strong platform at the start of Turn 3 that saw India go on an all-out attack.
Siva Reddy, V Subramani, and Wazir Pratik Waikar got a plethora of sky dives and pole dives to keep the Sri Lankans quiet. Pabani Sabar joined Aniket Pote and Siva Reddy in the first batch of the final turn. As the match ended with the score 100-40, the Indians secured a place in the semifinals with ease.
ENDS
