Ultimate Kho Kho preview: Mumbai Khiladis seek maiden win, Odisha Juggernauts aim to continue winning run

Cuttack, December 25, 2023: Mumbai Khiladis will continue their hunt for the maiden win in the second edition of the Ultimate Kho Kho when they clash with Gujarat Giants while defending champions Odisha Juggernauts will aim to continue their winning run against Chennai Quick Guns in their second match on Tuesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack.

Promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India, Ultimate Kho Kho became a huge hit in the first season, emerging as India’s third-largest non-cricket league in terms of television viewership. It also became the first Indian sports league to secure Series A funding, courtesy of the UK-based BNP Group.

Mumbai Khiladis will come into the match having conceded a narrow loss in their first game of the league against Telugu Yoddhas. They suffered a 2-point loss when they met Telugu Yoddhas on the opening day on Sunday.

Abhishek Pathrode of Mumbai Khiladis said his team will have an advantage going into the match as Gujarat Giants will be playing their first match in the second edition. “We were mentally prepared to play a tough game against a strong team like Telugu Yoddhas When we played against them in the previous season, we lost the first game and won the second game, so we knew what to expect from them and we were prepared.”

He added, “Gujarat is a good team they qualified for the playoffs in the last edition. But I think we will have a slight advantage going into the next game as Gujarat will be playing their first game so a completely new experience of competing with the new team is not an easy task. Rest we will see on the mat.”

On the other hand, Odisha Juggernauts are the defending champions and registered a comfortable 35-27 win against Rajasthan Warriors in their previous match. Captain Dipesh More stated that they are thinking about one step at a time in Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2.

“Odisha won the title in the last edition and we aim to repeat the performance once again in the second season as well. We are taking every game as it comes and now our focus is on the upcoming match against Chennai Quick Guns. We have analysed the mistakes we made against Rajasthan Warriors and will try not to repeat those in the upcoming match against Chennai,” commented Dipesh More.

The exciting action of Season 2 will be telecasted on Sony Sports Network’s channels and SonyLIV with live coverage of daily two matches starting at 7:30 PM IST.