With the Kho Kho World Cup won, Priyanka Ingle targets the Olympics

Last week, Kho Kho, one of India's most famous indigenous sport, went global. 

And the script was complete when the Indian men's and women's teams held aloft the World Cup on Sunday night at New Delhi, as champions of the inaugural edition.

It is but a small beginning for the sport that dreams of spreading its wings across the world. At the inaugural edition, 23 different countries turned up, showcasing a rising interest in the sport across the world.

For the Indian players though, the victory was a moment of pride.

'Moving ahead in the right direction'

For Priyanka Ingle, the captain of the Indian women's team, the victory was special.

"It is a very special feeling as I am the captain of the first-ever World Cup winning women's team," she said, in an exclusive conversation with The Bridge.

The Pune-born Priyanka, who holds a position at the Income Tax department, was initially concerned about the state of affairs with the sport in the country. 

"Kho Kho wasn't getting such a good platform early on but now we are taking one step at a time and slowly moving ahead in the right direction", she said, while emphasising the importance of such a mega-event.

She was also adjudged the 'player of the tournament' at the World Cup for her excellent all-round performance throughout the tournament.

"I'm very happy with my performance and especially my team who performed so well today and helped us win the title," she said with pride.

Strategy for the final

The Indian team was high on confidence ahead of final, having prepared for the event with a stringent training routine. As captain of the team, Priyanka knew that their opponents in the final could well be Nepal and they had plans in place.

"The Nepal team has good Kho Kho skills and at the 2023 Asian Championships also we played with Nepal in the final, so we knew that we might have to play against Nepal in the final." she recalled.

The women's final at the inaugural edition of the Kho Kho World Cup was amongst two of the best countries currently playing the sport - India and Nepal. But with the Indian crowd putting a lot of pressure on Nepal, the hosts held all the aces. 

"We didn't have any pressure before the match and we were ready to play in the match with full strength as we practiced a lot, our coaches also helped us a lot in training so we knew that we would win the gold medal," said a confident Priyanka.

Future plans

With the Indian women winning the final by a 38 point margin, their dominance in the sport is unquestionable. Now though, they aim to take this forward and inspire the next generation to take up the sport.

The upcoming National Games will be one of the events to watch out for as these players will now take the field for their respective states and union territories as the reigning world champions.

But Priyanka is already looking further ahead. 

"Our next target will be the coming Asian Games but our biggest target is the 2036 Olympics, where if the Indian team plays, it will be a very proud moment for our nation."

The ultimate goal for the International Kho Kho Federation is to global expansion of the sport and a bid for the Olympics. And with over 50 nations currently playing the sport, the sample size is significant. 

Also, with the Indian government making a big push to bring the Olympics to India in 2036, there is a possibility that an indigenous sport like Kho Kho might just get recognition from the IOC.

Until such time, however, Priyanka will cherish the victory and continue playing the sport with renewed vigour.