PUNE: Six franchises picked 143 players in the draft organised here Thursday by Ultimate Kho Kho for its inaugural edition.
India’s first-ever franchise-based Kho-Kho league, promoted by Amit Burman, chairman of Dabur India, in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India, will be played from August 14 to September 4 at the Balewadi Stadium here.
A total of 240 registered players, from 28 states and Union territories were part of the draft process. They were divided into four categories, A, B, C and D, according to their performances in international matches, the recent national championships and evaluation conducted by the league.
The 77 top players from Category A, offered Rs 5 lakh and the South Asian Games Gold medallist Pratik Waikar, Andhra Pradesh’s Pothireddy Sivareddy, Tamil Nadu’s M Vignesh and Karantaka’s Gowtham MK were among the 20 players who were handpicked by the franchises.
While Waikar and defender Gowtham were picked by Telugu Yoddhas and Odisha Juggernauts respectively as their first pick, Chennai Quick Guns added local boy Vignesh to their squad. The 26-year-old all-rounder and one of the best pole divers in the country, Sivareddy will represent the Gujarat side.
A viewer-friendly revamped format is expected to bring about a transformation in how this indigenous sport is perceived in the country.
“Finally, the Ultimate Kho Kho drafts are over and it was a well-rounded draft which comprises players across the country. We are really happy and proud to see this first step in the progression of creating Ultimate Kho Kho as a mega league in the Indian sporting ecosystem. Now that the franchises will get to work with the players’ camp and the coaching camp till August 1, our endeavor at Ultimate Kho Kho will be to market the game and make this league a grand success,” Ultimate Kho Kho CEO Tenzing Niyogi at the end of the players draft.
A total of 34 matches will be played over the period of 21 days in the first season of the league. The knockout matches will be played in an exciting playoff format which will consist of a qualifier and eliminator matches.
With Sony Sports Network being the official broadcaster of the Ultimate Kho Kho Season 1, the live action will be telecast live in Hindi (SonyTEN 3), English (SonyTEN 1), Tamil and Telugu (SonyTEN 4) as well as on their OTT platform, SonyLIV. Two matches will be played daily during the league stage with the first match starting at 7:00 pm (IST).
