Indian men, women's teams rule in kho kho

New Delhi, PTI: The Indian women's team emerged champion in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup with a dominant 78-40 victory in the summit clash against Nepal here on Sunday. On a memorable night at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here, India produced a masterclass of speed, strategy and skill, dishing out a clinical show. A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.

Skipper Priyanka Ingle was in the best form with multiple touch points to her name, as the hosts started off in an excellent manner. This was enough to take the Women in Blue to 34 points and preventing a single Dream Run for the Nepal team. Manmati Dhami got Vaishnavi Pawar, and B Samjhana eliminated Priyanka Ingle but B Chaithra took India's first batch of Turn 2 into the Dream Run.

It wasn't for long, though, as Dipa completed the ALL OUT just moments later. This got the side back into the game but they only managed to score 24 points at the end of Turn 2, with an 11-point deficit at half time.

History repeated itself :on the same day for India, as the Indian Men’s team replicated their female counterparts’ achievement, edging out Nepal 54-36 in a thrilling finale to lift the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup on Sunday. The two teams touted as the favourites inevitably came knocking on each other’s doors one last time, in a rematch of the tournament opener.

Pratik Waikar and co. edged out the wily Nepal Men’s team in their initial bout of the tournament with a scoreline of 42-37. Since then, the hosts have maintained their unbeaten streak and punched their ticket into the final after putting away a fiery South African side in the semi-final. Nepal, on the other hand, also went on a rampage, dismantling their opponents with ease and effortlessly disposing of Iran to seal their spot in the final showdown.