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The Odisha Juggernauts were the champions of the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) League. Odisha Juggernauts beat the Telugu Yoddhas by one point to lift the title in a thrilling final. Milind Chavrekar played a key role in the Juggernauts winning the UKK last year.
Chavrekar was brought by the Telugu Yoddhas for the second season of the Ultimate Kho Kho League. The Yoddhas qualified for the semi-finals but lost to the Chennai Quick Guns. They again faced the Odisha Juggernauts in the 3rd place playoff and suffered a loss by eight points.
Milind Chavrekar had decent outings in both seasons. He has played 21 UKK games so far and has grabbed 78 points. It includes 28 dive points and 50 touch points. During the second season, Sportskeeda caught up with Milind, and here are excerpts from the interview:
#1 You represented the Odisha Juggernauts last year and beat the Telugu Yoddhas in the final. This year, you are representing the Yoddhas. Any difference you have felt while playing for the Yoddhas?
Milind Chavrekar: There is not much of a difference as both sides are very good. Last year, the Telugu Yoddhas lasted in the last 10 seconds. Both teams were quite even.
#2 You also played as a captain last year. How was the preparation before the knockout stages and what were the scenes once you won the title?
Milind Chavrekar: We strategized on every player of Telugu Yoddhas in the final. We played according to the plan and the coaches also helped us a lot. After winning the final, we enjoyed a lot. The coach was very happy because we executed the plans while defending and attacking in the final.
#3 You have represented India. What is your best moment while representing India?
Milind Chavrekar: I played for India in 2014. Kho Kho was added to the South Asian Games after a long time and I played in it. I was excited to be a part of it as I was the first one from my district to play for India.
#4 You also won the gold medal in it. You must have interacted with the senior players during that tournament. Can you tell us about your learnings from your interaction with those players?
Milind Chavrekar: There were senior players from the Railways. Sumit Bhatia sir and Sanjeev Sharma sir were among the coaching staff. I received a lot of knowledge from them. Yogesh More was the captain of the side. I learned a lot from these guys.
#5 You have played in nine senior national tournaments. You have won six gold medals and three silver medals. How important are these senior national tournaments and as a player, what learnings do you get from playing them?
Milind Chavrekar: Senior national tournaments are very important. There weren’t any tournaments in India before. So, we used to train throughout the year for the senior national tournament. I represented Maharashtra for 3-4 years before representing Railways. Railways were a strong team and we defeated them in the final.
Since 2016, I’ve been representing Railways and we have won gold. Because of the senior national tournaments, we have received our jobs in the Railways. We got government jobs because of the certificate from the senior national tournament.
#6 Do you have any hobbies and do you play any other games than Kho Kho?
Milind Chavrekar: I follow cricket other than Kho Kho.
#7 Have you ever thought that you would become a professional cricketer if you were not able to pursue a career in Kho Kho?
Milind Chavrekar: No no. I knew that a career could be achieved in Kho Kho because a lot of boys have received government jobs in Kho Kho. From the initial stages, it was in my mind to play the senior nationals and get a job. That’s why, the main focus was on Kho Kho and not on any other game.
#8 You have represented India in Kho Kho and now playing the Ultimate Kho Kho League. How has the family supported you in achieving a career in this sport?
Milind Chavrekar: When I first started, the family didn’t support me because I was not doing good in my studies. But after that, they supported me fully. My friends took me to the ground and they have also contributed immensely to my career.
#9 Coming back to this edition of Ultimate Kho Kho League, your side lost to the Gujarat Giants in your last game by 20 points. What do you think went wrong?
Milind Chavrekar: There wasn’t any mistake in it. We had rested 10-12 of our main players. We are playing continuous games and rest is important for the body. So we played with a different squad and lost the game. They also played well.
#10 Can you tell us more about your coach?
Milind Chavrekar: Vikas Hooda is our coach. He was there with us last year. He is also the coach of the Indian Railways team. We have a good bond with him and we know what strategy he will be having. We have a good relationship between us.
This interview was filled with inputs from Akshay Bhide.
