Mumbai: Bank of India, MahaVitaran Company, Naval Dock and Mumbai Police made winning starts in the inaugural RBI Professional Invitational Kho-Kho Tournament organised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Sports Club under the aegis of the Mumbai Kho-Kho Association at the Vidyarthi Krida Kendra ground in Parel.
In the opening encounter, Bank of India edged past Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation 19-17 after a thrilling contest that was tied 10-10 at half-time.
Janardan Sawant starred for Bank of India with strong defensive performances of 1.30 and 1.20 minutes along with five points. Mayuresh More contributed with defensive timings of 1.40 and 1.20 minutes and one point, while Arpit Tiwari added two points. Manoj Chaudhary also impressed with five points and a 1.20-minute defence effort.
For BMC, Nikhil Waghe, Aditya Patil, Ajay Mitra and Nimesh Chougule fought hard, but the side narrowly missed out.
In another close match, MahaVitaran Company defeated Gandhekar Electricals Pvt Ltd 15-14 after dominating the first half 13-6.
Samyak Jadhav, Aniket Chendwankar and Pratik Waikar delivered key performances for MahaVitaran. For Gandhekar Electricals, Gaurav Kudav, Kushal Mukne and Kushang Vaishya kept the match alive till the final moments.
Naval Dock overcame Thane Special Police Cell 10-9 after leading 8-5 at half-time. Sarthak Junghare, Anant Satale and Hiten Bhoir played crucial roles in the victory. Thane Special Police Cell’s Shridhar Desai impressed with six points despite the defeat.
The most exciting contest of the day saw Mumbai Police defeat hosts RBI 17-15 after the scores were locked 9-9 at the break.
Akshay Khapre, Nikhil Ghadge, Sohel Sheikh and Sohel Kalawant were instrumental for Mumbai Police. RBI’s Atharva Khochade, Siddhesh Chorge, Sujal Devhare, Harshal Meher and Sufiyan Sheikh produced spirited performances but could not stop Mumbai Police from sealing victory.
