Maharashtra complete clean sweep of gold medals in Khelo India youth games

Hosts Maharashtra completed a clean sweep of gold medals in the boys and girls under-17 and under -21 kho-kho competition at the Khelo India Youth Games here Thursday. Kerala finished with two silver medals, both in the under-21 category. Delhi (girls under-17) and Andhra Pradesh (boys under-17) were the other silver medallists. Barring the Boys Under-17 final against Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra were made to fight in all the other finals, but in the end they came emerged triumphant. In an enthralling under-17 girls' final, Maharashtra beat Delhi 19-17 as the match was decided through an extra inning which Maharashtra won 7-5, after both teams were level at the end of the second innings, a media release said.

The story in the under-17 boys final was very different as Maharashtra thumped Andhra Pradesh 19-8. In the under-21 girls final, Kerala fought back from a 2-7 deficit but Maharashtra held their nerve to prevail 7-6 and emerge victorious. The under-21 boys final was another topsy-turvy contest that saw frequent shifts in momentum, before Maharashtra prevailed 15-13 over Kerala, it added. The results: Girls under-17: Final: Maharashtra bt Delhi 19-17 Boys under-17 Final: Maharashtra bt Andhra Pradesh 19-8 Girls under-21 Final: Maharashtra bt Kerala 7-6 Boys under-21 Final: Maharashtra bt Kerala 15-13.