Kho Kho: India men, women cruise into World Cup semifinals

Men's team registers big 100-40 win over Sri Lanka, while women crush Bangladesh with 109-16 victory in the championship

New Delhi: Ramji Kashyap, Pratik Waikar and Aditya Ganpule laid the foundation in turn 1 as the Indian men’s team marched into the semifinals of the Kho Kho World Cup with a 100-40 win over Sri Lanka here on Friday.

The troika of Kashyap, Waikar and Ganpule impressed as India scored 58 points in turn 1 and prevented the Sri Lankans from scoring a single point via Dream Runs, ensuring a strong start to the game. Sri Lanka worked hard in turn 2, as their attackers made the job difficult for their Indian opponents.

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But their efforts were not enough to bridge the gap as India remained ahead at the start of turn 3. India took the aggressive route in turn 3 as Siva Reddy, V Subramani, and Waikar put in plenty of sky and pole dives to keep the Sri Lankans quiet. India reached 100 points at the end of turn 3, which was enough to help them seal a spot in the semifinals.

The women’s team also produced a clinical performance to crush Bangladesh by a huge margin of 109-16 and book their spot in the semifinals of the Kho Kho World Cup here on Friday. Led by captain Priyanka Ingle, India dominated the contest throughout all four turns, including an impressive dream run in turn 2 that lasted over five minutes and continued to record 100 or more points for the fifth time in a row.

India were dominant from the beginning of the quarterfinal against Bangladesh, hitting a half-century of points courtesy Nasreen Shaikh and Priyanka in turn 1 as their points soared past the mark of 50. At the end of turn 2, the Bangladesh managed only four simple touches as the score read 56-8 with two more turns remaining in the game.

There was no change in the course of the game as India did not allow Bangladesh to settle into the contest. A sky dive from Reshma Rathod brought up their fifth-straight 100 points in the tournament and at the end of turn 3 the score read 106-8. India eventually won 109-16 at the end of turn 4.

In other matches, Uganda scored a decisive victory over New Zealand, securing their semi-final berth with a final score of 71-26, South Africa beat Kenya 51-46 to advance to the next round whereas Nepal crushed Iran 103-8.

In the men’s division, Iran showcased exceptional performance against Kenya to win 86-18 while South Africa triumphed over England to secure their semi-final spot with a 58-38 victory. Nepal also made it to the final four after beating Bangladesh 67-18.