Puri: Odisha AM/NS India Kho Kho High Performance Centre (HPC) trainees shone at the recent 14th Odisha State Junior Kho Kho Championship in Puri.

Eleven girls and 10 boys of Odisha AM/NS KHPC, representing teams of various districts and KISS University, showcased great skill, speed and competitive spirit in the meet held at the Kho Kho Academy in Puri’s District Sports Complex.

KISS University won the Girls’ event, with significant contributions from five Odisha AM/NS KHPC players — Lisarani Raita, Ashika Kujur, Raktima Bhanda, Subhashree Mallick and Chinmayee Pradhan.

Jagatsinghpur team, which had Odisha AM/NS KHPC’s Lipina Nath in their ranks, finished runners-up.

Puri, powered by K. Bhavani, secured the second runners-up position.

Lisarani was adjudged the Best Attacker in Girls’ championship, while Somali Dehury received the Best Emerging Player award.

In the Boys’ category, Sports Hostel (Puri) emerged champions, with fine contributions from Odisha AM/NS KHPC athletes Aditya Das, Subham Biswal and Soumya Ranjan Swain.

Ramlal Birua of the centre helped KISS University bag second runners-up position, while T Naveen guided Ganjam team to third-place finish.

Soumya Ranjan was presented the Best Emerging Player award.

“The championship served as an excellent platform for our athletes to showcase and test their skills in a highly competitive environment. It is truly encouraging to witness our athletes contributing to the success of multiple district teams while also achieving individual honours,” said Sanjeev Sharma, head coach of Odisha AM/NS KHPC.