BENGALURU: Host Karnataka claimed the boys' title in the 44th Junior National Kho Kho Championship with a thrilling 35-30 victory over defending champions Maharashtra in the final. In the girls' category, Maharashtra defended their title by defeating Odisha 34-33 in a high-octane final played at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Gunjur on Sunday.
In the boys’ semifinals, Maharashtra edged out Kolhapur 33-31, while Karnataka dominated Madhya Bharat 33-20. In the girls’ semifinals, Maharashtra triumphed over Punjab 28-14, and Odisha beat Kolhapur 29-27.
Sneha Lamkane (Maharashtra) won the 'Janaki Award' as the best player in the girls’ category, while B. Vijay (Karnataka) received the 'Veer Abhimanyu Award' as the best player in the boys’ category.
Among the finalist teams, Diksha Katekar (Maharashtra) was named best attacker and Archana Pradhan (Odisha) best defender in the girls’ category. Raj Jadhav (Maharashtra) was named best attacker, and Prajjwal Y. (Karnataka) best defender in the boys’ category.