Subramani optimistic about Gujarat’s title prospects

CHENNAI: As the second season of Ultimate Kho Kho moves closer to the knockout stage, Tamil Nadu attacker, V Subramani, stands tall as a guiding light for Gujarat Giants in its exhilarating path towards clinching the coveted title.

Subramani, who was introduced to the sport by his elder brother, has come a long way from playing during school PT hours to competing in the Ultimate Kho Kho.

Speaking to DT Next about his initial inclination towards the sport, Subramani said, “I started playing Kho Kho when I was in sixth grade. It was my brother who got me into playing for the school team. From that moment, my love for the game took root, leading me to compete in big tournaments.”

With the support of his family, especially of his grandmother who played a significant role in making sure he continued to play the sport, despite others worrying about his studies. Subramani has made step-by-step progress in his Kho Kho career by initially representing his university in zonal level games to competing in Senior National Championships.

Now, the youngster from Ramanathapuram, has set his foot on the Ultimate Kho Kho for his second season. He played for Telugu Yoddhas in the inaugural season last year, which lost in the final.

Switching to Gujarat Giants this season, the youngster doesn’t seem to have difficulty adapting to the new environment. “Yes, it is a new team, but the coaches here are already familiar to me as I’ve met them during my Delhi camp days. If any correction is required in my game, they directly tell me what should be changed and it is easy for me to improve my game,” said Subramani.

Although there is a huge difference between playing other tournaments and Ultimate Kho Kho, the youngster has made a seamless transition to the latter. Sharing his thoughts on the difference, he added, “Ultimate Kho Kho requires high speed and endurance compared to other tournaments as it is played in six boxes, whereas the others are played in eight boxes. And other tournaments do not have rules like ‘Wazir’ which allows one attacking player to run in any direction when acting as an active attacker.”

With a dominant victory against Rajasthan Warriors on Friday, Gujarat has qualified for the knockout stage. And speaking about the team’s hopes of clinching its first title, Subramani added, “We are very confident about winning the title. We got a good bunch of people training hard towards that goal. We started our training camp way ahead of other teams which was an added advantage. We have a strong side and will do whatever it takes to win the tournament.”