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Pune, January 16: Maharashtra booked their place in the finals of both Boys and Girls Under-17 and Under-21 sections, putting themselves in line for a four-gold sweep of all the gold medals in the kho-kho competition of Khelo India Youth Games at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Kerala also assured themselves of at least two silver medals as they reached two finals, in the two Under-21 sections. Delhi in Under-17 Girls and Andhra Pradesh in Under-17 Boys managed to get into one final each.
Interestingly, both semi-finals were decided by the same scoreline 7-6, with Maharashtra and Delhi emerging winners.
Delhi overcame Gujarat by 7-6 with five minutes to spare. Mamta’s three chasing points proved vital for Delhi, while Madhu’s two points and Nandita’s one sealed their win. Monu spent 2.50 minutes in defence for Delhi in the first innings, while Nandita spent 2.40 minutes in each inning.
In the other semi-final, Harshada Patil scored two chasing points for Maharashtra while Harmanpreet Kaur earned two for Punjab. Maharashtra’s Shruti Shinde spent three minutes in defence in each inning and Ashwini More spent 2.40 minutes in the first inning.
In the Under-17 boys’ category, Maharashtra took down Tamil Nadu while Andhra Pradesh swept Karnataka aside to progress to the final.
Maharashtra won by an innings and six points (12-6), with Chardu Charare and Vishal Dukale scoring three points each, while Rohan Kore spent 3.30 minutes in defence in the first innings.
Andhra Pradesh won their semi-final by seven points (17-10) as J. Nitish Kumar’s seven chasing points proved to be the difference. K. Rammohan scored three points for them and also spent 2.30 minutes in defence in the first innings.
In the Under-21 girls’ section, Maharashtra beat Odisha by an innings and three points (10-7), riding on Kajal Bhor’s three chasing points. Priyanka Bhopi’s three minutes in defence in the first innings.
Kerala pipped Delhi in the other semi-final, winning by one point (8-7) and with six minutes to spare. Sreelekshmi’s three points and Kalaivani’s four minutes in defence was crucial for them.
Maharashtra were impressive in the boys’ Under-21 semi-final as well, beating Gujarat by an innings and four points (13-9) with the help of Aayush Gaurav's three points. They will now meet Kerala, who thumped Andhra Pradesh 21-11 win in the other semi-final as Visag S starred with seven points.
Results
Under-17 Girls: Semi-finals:
Delhi beat Gujarat 7-6; Maharashtra beat Punjab 7-6
Under-17 Boys: Maharashtra beat Tamil Nadu 12-6; Andhra Pradesh beat Karnataka 17-10
Under-21 Girls: Maharashtra beat Odisha 10-7; Kerala beat Delhi 8-7
Under-21 Boys: Maharashtra beat Gujarat 13-9; Kerala beat Andhra Pradesh 21-11.
