Factionalism comes to fore between two kho kho bodies

The kho kho players have fallen victim to factionalism between two bodies. While the Kho Kho Association of Chandigarh is hosting a Senior National Championship at Panjab University, the Chandigarh Kho Kho Association has termed the event as ‘unaffiliated’.

“The ongoing national championship at Panjab University is fake and unauthorised as the association is not affiliated with the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI). The Chandigarh Kho Kho Association is the only body affiliated to the KKFI, Chandigarh Olympic Association and Chandigarh Sports Council,” reads the statement issued by the Chandigarh Kho Kho Association.

Refuting the claims, general secretary of the Kho Kho Association of Chandigarh said they had got the affiliation from the Kho Kho India recently and were authorised to run the affairs. “They are levelling baseless allegations. We got the affiliation recently. We were picked by the Kho Kho India to host the national events. We will be conducting state championships in the coming months. The Kho Kho Federation of Asia has appointed us an observer (Rani Tiwari) for this tournament. How come this championship is fake?” said Paramjit Singh Rajput, general secretary, Kho Kho Association of Chandigarh.

‘Fight’ at national level

While the two associations are accusing each other, reports confirmed that the KKFI has a new competitor body (Kho Kho India), which is now running a parallel association across India. In this scenario, the validation of tournaments conducted by both the groups can be challenged and the players would be at ultimate loss.

“The players will be at the receiving end amid this fight of grabbing the power. These two parallel factions should keep aside their personal interests and work for the welfare of sports. Otherwise, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs should interfere to stop these groups from conducting any championships,” said an official.

Panjab University at fault?

The authorities at Panjab University clearly ignored the fact of infighting within two groups and approved usage of their grounds for organising this ‘disputed’ national event.

As per officials of the Kho Kho Association of Chandigarh, the body got affiliation just seven days ago.

Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu log win

In the boys’ category, the opening match was played between Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Telangana won the toss and chose to defend first. In the first innings, Tamil Nadu attacked and scored 18 points, while Telangana managed only four points. Tamil Nadu played the follow-on and secured a victory by nine points and one innings

In the second match, Jharkhand won the toss and opted to defend first against Himachal Pradesh. In the first innings, Himachal scored 10 points, while Jharkhand managed four points. In the second innings, Jharkhand attacked and scored eight points, but Himachal successfully defended and scored three points to bag victory