RBI Professional Kho-Kho Tournament 2026: Thrilling Quarter-Final Battles Light Up Parel’s Lal Maidan

Mumbai: The historic red soil ground of Vidyarthi Krida Kendra at Parel witnessed another action-packed day in the First Professional Invitational Kho-Kho Tournament 2026, organised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Sports Club under the aegis of the Mumbai Kho-Kho Association.

The quarter-final encounters kept spectators on the edge of their seats as speed, strategy, strong defence and intense competition dominated the proceedings.

After a series of thrilling matches, Central Railway, Rachana Notary Works, Western Railway, and Maharashtra Post stormed into the semi-finals, setting the stage for two exciting clashes ahead.

Western Railway Registers Strong Win Over Bank of India

In the first quarter-final match of the professional category, Western Railway defeated Bank of India by 11-9 (half-time 9-4), securing a convincing 2-point victory with 7.20 minutes remaining.

Western Railway maintained aggressive momentum from the beginning and controlled the game with disciplined defence and timely attacks. Nikhil Sodiye (2.30, unbeaten 2.30 min defence and 2 points), Aditya Ganpule (2.50 min defence and 2 points), Vrushabh Wagh (unbeaten 1, 3 min defence), Mahesh Shinde (1, 1.20 min defence and 1 point), and Abhay Ratnakar (1 min defence and 5 points) played key roles in guiding their team to victory.

For the defeated Bank of India side, Raj Sakpal (1.40 min defence), Sudarshan Chavan (1.10 min defence and 3 points), Arpit Tiwari (1.30, 1 min defence and 2 points), and Mayuresh More (1.30 min defence and 1 point) fought hard but could not prevent defeat.

Central Railway Outclasses MahaVitaran

In the second quarter-final, Central Railway produced a dominant performance to beat MahaVitaran Company by 19-12 (half-time 10-6), winning comfortably by 7 points.

Central Railway controlled the match throughout and never allowed their opponents to recover. Outstanding performances came from Arnav Patankar (1.40 min defence and 4 points), Shubham Thorat (1.40 min defence and 3 points), Vijay Hazare (2 min defence), Milind Chavarekar (1 min defence and 4 points), Saurabh Ghadge (unbeaten 1 min defence and 2 points), and Ganesh Borkar (2.10 min defence).

Despite spirited efforts from Chetan Bade (1.10 min defence), Samyak Jadhav (1.20 min defence and 2 points), Varun Patil (1.30, 1.30 min defence and 1 point), Soham Lokawale (1 min defence and 3 points), and Aniket Chendavankar (1, 1.40 min defence and 2 points), MahaVitaran failed to stay in contention.

Rachana Notary Works Edge Past Mumbai Police in Thriller

The third quarter-final turned out to be one of the most exciting matches of the day as Rachana Notary Works defeated Mumbai Police by 21-18 (half-time 12-10) in a nail-biting encounter. Both teams fought fiercely till the final moments, but Rachana Notary Works held their nerve to secure a memorable victory.

The winning side was powered by brilliant performances from Prathamesh Durgawale (1.20 min defence and 3 points), Hitesh Agre (1.20 min defence and 4 points), Sadashiv Palav (1.10 min defence and 4 points), Rupesh Kondhalkar (1.50 min defence and 1 point), and Ganesh Sahu (1.20, 1.10 min defence and 1 point).

Mumbai Police also displayed excellent fighting spirit through Akshay Khapre (1 min defence and 3 points), Sohel Shaikh (1.30 min defence and 3 points), Sohel Kalawant (1 min defence and 3 points), Vedant Desai (1, 1.40 min defence and 1 point), Harish More (1.20 min defence and 5 points), and Sujit Pawal (1.20, 1.30 min defence), but their efforts fell short in the end.

Maharashtra Post Sneaks Past Naval Dock by Narrow Margin

The fourth and final quarter-final witnessed another intense battle as Maharashtra Post narrowly defeated Naval Dock by 16-15 (half-time 11-7), winning by just 1 point with 4.50 minutes remaining.

The match remained competitive till the final whistle and kept the crowd engrossed throughout. For Maharashtra Post, Akshay Masal (1.20, 1.30 min defence and 1 point), Sunny Tambe (2.20 min defence and 3 points), Dheeraj Bhave (1.20, 1 min defence and 1 point), Pratik Devhare (2.10 min defence and 2 points), Pradyumna Patil (4 points), and Shubham Shinde (1.10, 1.40 min defence) played decisive roles in the victory.

Naval Dock fought bravely through Shubham Dogale (1.20, 1.10 min defence and 1 point), Sai Pisal (1 min defence and 4 points), Sarthak Junghare (1.30 min defence and 2 points), Anant Satale (1 min defence and 3 points), Vaibhav More (1 min defence and 1 point), and Hiten Bhoir (2 points), but narrowly missed out on a semi-final berth.