Athletes from the Odisha AM NS India Kho Kho High Performance Centre delivered an outstanding performance at the 58th Senior National Kho Kho Championship held at Kazipet Railway Stadium in Telangana last week. A total of seventeen players from the centre represented various teams at the prestigious national tournament, underlining the growing impact of the high performance training programme on the national stage.

The Odisha women’s team finished runners up in the championship after an exceptional campaign. The team remained unbeaten on their way to the final before suffering a heartbreaking 22 to 23 loss against defending champions Maharashtra in the title clash. Eight players from the High Performance Centre were part of the women’s squad including Archana Majhi Subhashree Sing Magai Majhi Archana Pradhan Harapriya Bhuyan Sabita Murmu Lisarani Raita and Kadambini Majhi.

The Odisha men’s team also put up a strong show, securing a joint third position along with the Kolhapur team. The men’s side won all their league matches and also emerged victorious in their pre quarterfinal and quarterfinal encounters. Their impressive run came to an end in the semifinals where they narrowly lost to eventual champions and holders Railways. The Odisha men’s squad featured eight HPC athletes namely Arjun Singh Deepak Kumar Sahoo Pabani Sabar Papu Marndi Sunil Patra Vishal Oram T Sankar and Siba Gunta.

Apart from the Odisha teams, another High Performance Centre athlete Sameer Adiwal represented the Madhya Bharat team at the national championship, further highlighting the centre’s contribution to kho kho talent across regions.

Reacting to the strong showing, Sanjeev Sharma Head Coach of the Odisha AM NS India Kho Kho High Performance Centre said that the performances reflected the discipline mental strength and technical growth of the athletes. He added that competing at this level and delivering such results against top teams validates the long term vision for athlete development at the HPC.

With Odisha women finishing as national runners up and the men reaching the semifinals, the impressive showing of HPC athletes at the Senior National Championship reinforces Odisha’s emergence as a major hub for kho kho excellence in India.