When Chennai Quick Guns play Telugu Yoddhas in the second semifinal of Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 on Thursday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, they’ll be hoping to continue their winning streak. One could argue that Chennai Quick Guns are the best team this season thus far. The team with the most offensive and defensive points is also led by Ramji Kashyap, who was named player of the season. This season, Ramji has been both the best attacker and defender. He has also accumulated the most dive points and sky dives.
The fact that some young players who are just starting their careers have given Chennai Quick Guns momentum makes their season even more remarkable. Ramji is only twenty years old. The 19-year-old all-round player Madan has shown some incredible defensive performances. While Akash Kadam is 22 years old, attacker Vijay Shinde is only 21. “Telugu Yoddhas is our opponent in the semi-finals, and this year we will give it everything we have to defeat them. Since every team is fiercely competitive and strong, it will be difficult to pick the winner of the match. According to a UKK release, Chennai Quick Guns captain Amit Patil stated, “It will all depend on teams who will make the fewest mistakes.”
Telugu Yoddhas will try to stop their concerning form decline. They lost badly in their last two games, including a crushing 20-point loss to Gujarat Giants, after appearing to be a strong contender to win the league table the entire season. The fact that they defeated Chennai Quick Guns handily the last time these two teams faced off will, nevertheless, give them comfort. Their captain, Pratik Waikar, who leads the league in pole dives this season and is currently the best Wazir, will be their main source of inspiration.
For the past five games, the Odisha Juggernauts have not lost and have won several of them handily. They defeated Telugu Yoddhas on Sunday, 35–27, and it was very impressive. When it mattered most, players like Dilip Khandavi, Gowtham MK, and Deepak Sahoo—one of the best Wazirs this season—stepped up. Additionally, they will enjoy the benefit of performing in front of their raucous home crowd, who has been a great source of encouragement throughout the season. Even though the Gujarat Giants got their retribution in the rematch, the Odisha Juggernauts will not be taking their opponents lightly heading into Thursday’s game.
“I’m excited for that match because we are confident because we won our last game against the Gujarat Giants,” said Dipesh More, captain of the Odisha Juggernauts. It feels great to play in front of our home supporters because we are thrilled with the enthusiastic reception we are receiving. This gives us an additional advantage in our style of play. We are taking things one step at a time and are not under any pressure. According to the release, “Our first goal is to win the semifinals, and then we’ll consider the finals.”
Gujarat Giants will try to stop a concerning decline in performance in the interim. They have only won two of their last five games, which is a significant drop after they appeared unbeatable in the early going of the competition. In spurts, players like Rajvardhan Patil, P Narasayya, and Sanket Kadam have shown promise, but if they are to advance to the championship, the team as a whole must gel and contribute. “The Odisha Juggernauts are a formidable team, and we are currently devising a high-stakes game plan for our upcoming encounter. We know we will be playing against the crowd, but we are prepared to play against them and we will give it our all. The Gujarat Giants’ captain, Akshay, stated, “Our focus is on both recovery and training. We are working on our weaknesses and also doing video analysis on our opponent teams.”
