Tamulpur, March 22: Indian men had to struggle to get through a gritty Nepal to book their semifinal berth in the ongoing 4th Asian Kho Kho Championship at Tamulpur in Baksa district in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Assam on Wednesday.
On day 3, Indian men overcame Nepal by 18 points. At the end of two innings India scored 67 while the Nepal score was 49.
India could earn 36 points in the first innings against Nepal’s 22 while in the second innings India scored 31 and Nepal could manage 27 points.
Shreyas G of India showed some aggression since the beginning of the match which helped his side gain some valuable points.
India captain Akshay Bhangre said they need to improve their coordination in the next game.
“Coordination was not satisfactory in today’s match. We need to improve. We need to put in a lot of effort,” said Akshay.
He also termed Sri Lanka as a tough opponent.
“Sri Lanka, our opponent in the semifinal is a good team. We respect our opponents. We are here to win this championship,” Akshay added.
Speaking on the massive support in Tamulpur, Akshay said this kind of enthusiasm for the game is superb.
“The crowd was great. I thank the people of Tamulpur for turning up great numbers to support us. Such enthusiasm will increase the interest for the game in the urban areas from now onwards,” he opined.
Indian women thrashed Bhutan in the last match of the day.
In other games of men, South Korea won by 11 points against Indonesia and Bhutan defeated Iran by 5 points.
In other women’s matches, Sri Lanka defeated Malaysia by 34 points and innings to reach the semifinal and Nepal won by 14 points against Bangladesh.
Semifinal lineup:
The semifinal lineup has been fixed at the end of day 3. In the men’s category, India will face Sri Lanka and in the other last-four game, Bangladesh will play against Nepal.
In the women’s event, India will play against Bangladesh while in the other semifinal, Nepal will clash against Sri Lanka.
The semifinals and the finals of both men and women will be played on Thursday from 11 am.
The closing ceremony is scheduled to be held from 2 pm.
