Railway giants dominate inaugural edition as Western Railway register a commanding 15-11 victory; Aditya Ganpule, Abhay Ratnakar and Shubham Thorat bag individual honours.
Mumbai: Western Railway produced a disciplined and clinical performance to defeat Central Railway 15-11 and emerge champions of the inaugural RBI Cup Professional Invitational Kho-Kho Tournament, organised by the Reserve Bank of India Sports Club under the aegis of the Mumbai Kho-Kho Association.
The final, played before an enthusiastic crowd, saw Western Railway seize control early and maintain their advantage throughout the contest. A crucial 10-5 lead at half-time proved decisive as Western Railway combined solid defence with effective attacking play to outclass their railway rivals.
A hallmark of Western Railway’s triumph was their collective team effort. Vrushabh Wagh anchored the defence brilliantly, recording defensive timings of 2.30 and 2.50 minutes. Aditya Ganpule delivered an outstanding all-round display, contributing defensive efforts of 2 and 2.40 minutes while also scoring four valuable dismissals.
Rahul Mandal (2, 1.10 min defence and 1 point), Mahesh Shinde (1, 1.50 min defence), Vijay Shinde (1 min defence and 2 points) and Abhay Ratnakar, Amit Patil, Nikhil Sodiye and Mazhar Jamadar (2 points each) also played vital roles in Western Railway’s title-winning campaign.
Central Railway fought hard and showed resilience throughout the final. Ramji Kashyap (2.30, 1.40 min defence and 1 point), Dilip Khandvi (1.30, 1.30 min defence and 3 points), Shubham Thorat (1, 2.50 min defence and 1 point), Akash Togare (1.20 min defence), Saurabh Ghadge (1.10 min defence and 2 points) and Arnav Patankar (2 points) delivered notable performances but could not prevent Western Railway from lifting the trophy.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Western Railway’s Aditya Ganpule was named Best All-Rounder, while teammate Abhay Ratnakar received the Best Attacker award. Central Railway’s Shubham Thorat was adjudged the Best Defender of the tournament.
In the third-place playoff, Maharashtra Post defeated Rachana Notary Works 14-12 to secure the final podium position.
