Pune: The inaugural Ultimate Kho Kho League is just past the halfway stage in its league phase, and Odisha Juggernauts are showing some qualities champions are made of.
On Thursday evening, the Juggernauts came from behind to beat Rajasthan Warriors 51-45 and notch up their fifth win in six matches – fourth on the trot. The win helped Odisha Juggernauts go atop the six-team standings with 15 points.
Up against the bottom-ranked team for the second time here at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Odisha Juggernauts trailed 21-27 at half-time.
But as they have done quite often during their campaign so far, the Juggernauts kept hustling and piled on the points to end up on the winning side, thanks to Nilesh Jadhav’s remarkable all-round performance.
Nilesh recorded 3.22 minutes in the defence and also scored 16 points in attack, including six dismissals.
Skipper Dipesh More also contributed to the Odisha Juggernauts victory, with a defence time of 3.58 minutes.
It was Rajasthan Warriors’ sixth defeat in as many matches, and they are virtually out of reckoning for a berth in the play-offs.
The Juggernauts have more matches to play in the league stage — against Mumbai Khiladis (Aug 27 and Aug 30) and Telugu Yoddhas (Aug 28 and Aug 31).
