Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 30 : The Maharashtra government on Thursday honoured nine state players who were part of India's victorious men's and women's teams at the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup 2025, held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. In recognition of their achievement, each player was awarded Rs 2.25 crore, while the coaches received Rs 22.5 lakh each, said an official statement from Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI).
The Government of Maharashtra honoured nine state players as per the state's sports policy, as they were part of the victorious Indian men's and women's teams at the inaugural edition of the Kho Kho World Cup 2025, held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium under. The felicitation ceremony recognised their outstanding contribution to India's success in the tournament, with a majority of the players coming from Maharashtra. They have also been offered jobs with the government, boosting the prospect for the sport among the aspiring Kho Kho players in the state, as per the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) press release.
Further the statement citing Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar stated that he lavished praise on the players and tweeted,"The players of the Indian men's and women's teams, who became world champions in the first World Kho Kho Championship held in New Delhi, and their coaches paid me a courtesy call in Pune. On this occasion, I sincerely congratulated all of them and felicitated them. My best wishes to all the players for their future successful careers!".
Each player was awarded Rs 2.25 crore, while the coaches received Rs 22.5 lakh each as a token of appreciation for their remarkable achievement. The ceremony was particularly notable for the presence of team skippers Pratik Waikar and Priyanka Ingle, whose leadership played a crucial role in India's victory, the statement added.
Sudhanshu Mittal underlined the importance of this achievement in promoting Kho Kho globally.
"This historic victory has demonstrated India's dominance in Kho Kho on the world stage. These awards will inspire the next generation of players to pursue excellence in this traditional sport as we look to take kho kho to the next level, which is the Olympics. I am extremely grateful for the support from the Maharashtra Government in promoting Kho Kho and these incentives are a step in the right direction," Sudhanshu Mittal said as quoted by a KKFI press release.
Further the release stated, Maharashtra has always been the breeding ground for sports, especially Kho Kho. There are some brilliant players who have come from the state as Kho Kho is a very popular sport there. Each and every kid plays Kho Kho in that region. Also, there is club culture in Maharashtra which creates some good rivalry among the players to do well eventually helping Kho Kho on the whole.
Moreover, the Kho Kho players get good job options which creates a sense of security among the players. Each player of the team that wins the national gets INR seven lakh in the prize money. There is also the Shiv Chhatrapati Award which is a prestigious annual sports award given by the Government of Maharashtra to recognise the achievements of athletes and sports contributors in the state.
The government's generous reward acknowledges the players' dedication and hard work while highlighting Maharashtra's leading role in promoting Kho Kho in the state that is considered the birthplace of the sport. This recognition is expected to boost the popularity of Kho Kho among young athletes and contribute to its continued growth at both national and international levels.
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