Hyderabad: It was so near yet so far for Odisha women in the final of the 58th Senior National Kho Kho Championship.
Pitted against four-time defending champions Maharashtra, Odisha gave their opponents a run for their money before losing by the most slender of margins (22-23) at Railway Stadium in Telangana’s Kazipet.
Odisha’s Archana Pradhan displayed fine defensive manoeuvres, but her efforts fell agonisingly short. Archana had the consolation of being adjudged best defender in the championship.
Interestingly, Odisha had finished runners-up in the previous Nationals, too, bowing to Maharashtra in Puri.
The men’s final on Thursday was also a repeat of the 2025 Nationals. The result was the same too, with Railways again overcoming Maharashtra, by a five-point margin of 26-21.
