Ichalkaranji, the nursery of India’s kho kho talent

The town of Ichalkaranji is known as the Manchester of Maharashtra thanks to its booming textile industry. It is also the kho kho hub of the country, much like how Bhiwani in Haryana has emerged for its boxers. No wonder that 22 players from Ichalkaranji are playing for the six franchises of the Ultimate Kho Kho league.

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Because of the league, the players have gained celebrity status in Ichalkaranji with congratulatory banners put up across the city bearing their pictures. On weekends, 50-60 people travel to Pune, where the first season of the league is being held, to watch them in action.

Such is their domination in the sport that of the 11 Maharashtra state players in the Indian Railways squad, five are from Ichalkaranji. Of the 22, six play for Rajasthan Warriors, five for Chennai Quick Guns, three for Telugu Yoddhas, four for Gujarat Giants, and two each for Mumbai Khiladis and Odisha Juggernauts respectively.

One of the reasons why kho kho has blossomed in Ichalkaranji is that players represent Kolhapur Kho Kho Association (KKKA)—its office is located in the city—in the nationals. They are among the three units—besides Maharashtra and Vidarbha—that participate in the nationals from the state.

“Most of the players representing Kolhapur come from Ichalkaranji. The sport is huge in our city,” says KKKA president Rajan Urunkar, a former national level player.

Urunkar says: “The city has 10 clubs and tournaments are conducted every couple of months. Also, the availability of high-quality coaches and the players’ eagerness to keep improving makes sure that quality players are produced every year.”

He also points out that for 15 years now, former players have run the association and that has helped in the sport’s growth. At the University level too, players from Ichalkaranji rule the roost. Most of the players in Shivaji University in Kolhapur, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad, and Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University in Pune hail from the town. Around 1,100 players are registered with KKKA and a majority of them are from Ichalkaranji.

One of the famous clubs in the city is Jay Hind Mandal, formed in 1945. Seven players from the club feature in Ultimate Kho Kho with Amit Patil the skipper of Quick Guns. “Kho kho is a way of life in our town. I can’t pinpoint why it became so famous but I got hooked to it as almost everyone I knew played kho kho,” says the 26-year-old, who is employed with Western Railway.

“I and my twin brother (Abhijit Patil plays for Warriors) were very good at cricket. He used to vanish from home in the afternoon so once I followed him to check where he was going. I found that he was playing kho kho at a nearby ground. Slowly, I also developed a liking from the sport. But cricket remained my first love. Our coach used to come home to fetch us when we didn’t go to practice. It’s because of his and my father’s persistence that I’m playing at a top level,” he adds.

His club-mate Vijay Hajare is the skipper of Khiladis. He took up the sport because of his school (Govind Rao High School), which had produced a lot of players who played in the nationals and also represented India. It was also to fulfill his mother’s dream. “My mother played as well but due to lack of family support she couldn’t continue. She wanted me to do well in sport. When I was small, they used to be worried as I used to return late from practice as the club was a bit far from my home. But once I started doing well there was no resistance. The most important thing is players are trained for free so not many drop out,” says Hajare, who is employed with Central Railway.

The sport initially flourished under the Kolhapur Sports Association, which was established by the family members of Shahu Maharaj. It took off when KKKA was formed in 1974. Ultimate Kho Kho will hope to push its popularity further.

ICHALKARANJI PLAYERS IN ULTIMATE KHO KHO

Rajasthan Warriors: Abhijit Patil, Sushant Hajare, Sourabh Adavkar, Shailesh Sankapal, Majahar Jamadar, Sushant Kaldhone

Chennai Quick Guns: Amit Patil, Rajvardhan Patil, Manoj Patil, Pritam Chougule, Prasad Patil

Telugu Yoddhas: Rohan Shingade, Avdhut Patil, Adarsh Mohite

Gujarat Giants: Sagar Potdar, Abhinandan Patil, Vinayak Pokarde, Nilesh Patil

Mumbai Khiladis: Vijay Hajare, Rohan Kore

Odisha Juggernauts: Nilesh Jadhav, Avinash Desai

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