Bhubaneswar, Aug 10: In a major development today, Odisha’s own Kho Kho franchise “Odisha Juggernauts” announced Ekalavya awardees Milind Dilip Chavarekar and Dipesh Vijay More as the captains of the team for the Ultimate Kho Kho League, starting August 14, at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra. 

The captains were announced by the Head Coach of Odisha Juggernauts, Ashwani Kumar Sharma and Team Manager Lilan Prasad Sahu, in the presence of the entire squad. While Dipesh Vijay More will lead the team in the home matches, Milind Dilip Chavarekar will take the command in the away ones. 

While announcing the captain, Head Coach Sharma said, “Dipesh and Milind are the two senior-most players of the team, and I am sure they will do their best to ensure Odisha Juggernauts makes a mark in this inaugural edition of the league. Both come with great experience and understand team dynamics. With my two captains leading from the front, I am confident, we will lift the first-ever Ultimate Kho Kho League trophy.”

Dipesh Vijay More, 27, who will be the captain for the five home matches, expressed his happiness as the franchise chose him as one of the captains for the league. “I am thankful to the management and my coaches who have shown faith in me to take charge of the team. We have an excellent team, which is a mix of youth and experience. We will take one match at a time and put in all our efforts to leap to the next stage,” said Dipesh. 

Milind D Chavarekar, belongs to Sangli, Maharashtra and has won gold medal for India in the 2016 South Asian Games held at Guwahati. Milind has played nine senior nationals till date and continues to play for his employers Central Railways. 

Talking about the captaincy announcement, Milind said, “The responsibility and onus is on us to take the team forward. We will definitely repay the trust and faith the management has shown on us.”

Ultimate Kho Kho is India’s first-ever professional Kho-Kho league which is promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with Kho Kho Federation of India. The inaugural season of the league will be played in the Badminton Hall at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra from August 14 to September 4, 2022. 

The Odisha Sports Development and Promotion Company (OSDPC)-owned team Odisha Juggernauts will be the fifth franchise in the league. Odisha Juggernauts comprises 25 players with 6 players from Odisha in the state franchise and 10 in the League. OSDPC is collaborating with leading steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Limited (AM/NS India) and will be working closely in Ultimate Kho Kho.

Odisha Juggernauts will play its first match on 15 August against Chennai Quick Guns. 

The LIVE coverage of Ultimate Kho Kho will start from 14th August 2022 at 7:00 PM IST across SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi & Marathi) SONY TEN 4 (Telugu & Tamil) channels. The league will also be Livestream on their premium OTT platform SonyLIV.