With the inaugural edition of the Kho Kho World Cup set to take place in New Delhi from January 13-19, 2025, top players worldwide are gearing up for a new challenge. The hosts, India, will rely on some of their best players to ensure the trophy comes home in this first edition. One such player is Pratik Waikar, an Eklavya Award winner who made his debut for India in 2016 and has consistently performed for the team.
Pratik began playing Kho Kho at the early age of eight, thanks to his family’s background in sports. While he initially started with Langdi—another sport native to India—he was unaware of how his future would unfold, ultimately making him one of the best Kho Kho players in the country.
Recalling his early journey, Pratik shared an inspiring incident involving his neighbor that motivated him to pursue Kho Kho. “The area where I lived had some excellent Kho Kho players. There was a remarkable player who lived opposite my house. When I was very young, he received the prestigious Shivaji Award, and I witnessed him being welcomed with a grand rally featuring dhol and tasha. These scenes truly inspired me to start playing the sport,” Pratik said, as quoted in a Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) press release.
However, Pratik faced his share of challenges during his sporting journey, as his family was struggling financially, limiting his opportunities to explore other sports or career paths. His outstanding performances in the U-18 category eventually led to a job offer through the talent quota, which improved his family’s circumstances.
“After I competed at the U-18 level, I was offered a job at the Maharashtra Electricity Board, and they expressed a desire to include me in their team. It was a direct recruitment. My family was overjoyed that I had my first job at just 19 years old. My brother had also started working a few years earlier, having been selected by Central Railways to play Kho Kho. He was an excellent player and my inspiration—I always wanted to play the way he did. His reflexes were sharp, and he also received a job through the talent quota after U-18. So, our financial conditions began to improve,” Pratik shared.
With a stable source of income for his family, Pratik focused on making a name for himself in Kho Kho. He led the Telugu Yoddhas in the Ultimate Kho Kho League, finishing as runners-up, and represented the Maharashtra team in the recent 56th Senior National Kho Kho Championship, where they won gold.
Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Finance, Pratik has been part of the Indian Kho Kho ecosystem for over two decades. He noted the positive impact of sports science on his performance, something that was lacking for much of his career.
“Sports science technology has developed excellent tools for conducting a complete assessment of our bodies. We learned which muscles were being overused and which were not utilized to their full potential. This knowledge made us aware of how much progress we could achieve in our game and how we could improve beyond our current level. All this was calculated using sports science technology,” Pratik explained.
As the World Cup approaches, all eyes will be on Pratik to see if he can replicate the success he has achieved on the mat over the years.
(ANI)
