JALNA

In Kho Kho, each team has 12 players, with 9 playing at a time. The sitting players sit in a row, facing opposite directions. The runners must dodge and weave between them while defenders try to tag them. What makes Kho Kho special is how it builds team spirit - players must communicate well and plan their moves together. Schools in Jalna often have Kho Kho teams that compete against other schools.

The sport is played on mud courts in villages and on mats in towns. Each team has 7 players on the court. The raider (person who goes to the other team's side) must show great skill in both attack and defence. Raiders use different techniques like toe touches, kicks, and quick turns to score points. Many villages in Jalna have their own kabaddi teams that practice daily in the evenings.

In Mallakhamb, athletes perform amazing moves on a wooden pole that's about 2.6 meters tall. The pole is made smooth with castor oil to prevent injuries. Performers must do flips, turns, and holds that look almost impossible. While this sport needs more support to grow, some schools in Jalna still teach it during physical education classes.

The farming connection to sports in Jalna is strong. During harvest seasons, villages organise special sports events. Games like "Viti-Dandu" (similar to cricket but played with a stick and a smaller stick instead of a bat and a ball) are still played in rural areas. There's also "Langdi," a hopping game that builds leg strength, and "Atya-Patya," a team game that needs players to be quick and alert.

Vijay Zol is one of the most successful and popular cricketers from the Jalna district. His father is a lawyer, but Vijay had a passion for cricket, so he dropped out of school to focus on cricket as a full-time career. Due to his good performance in the Maharashtra team, he was part of the U19 World Cup squad that won the cup in 2012, and he became captain in 2014. Because of his performance, he was picked up in the IPL auctions in 2014 by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Under his captaincy, the India Under-19 team won the Quadrangular Series in 2013-14. Out of the 6 matches played in the tournament, India won 4 of them and 1 match ended without any result. He was the top run-scorer for India in the final as India crushed South Africa by 201 runs. In December 2011, he scored 451 off 467 deliveries while batting for 11 hours for the Maharashtra cricket team.

Vilas Doifode is from Bhardi village in Ambad Taluka of Jalna district. Earlier, his brother and father used to play Kusti, and he started to play Kusti after the 12th standard. His brother stopped playing Kusti due to the economic condition of the family, but the family supported Vilas. At one point in his life, he says that his brother took a loan of 10,000 rupees for him to continue his practice, and because of that, he says that he has reached this level. He is from a farming family, and in the beginning, he used to take wrestling lessons at home from his brother. Later, he went to Jangli Maharaj Ashram in Shirdi, where he won the bronze medal in the Hind Kesari competition. In 2014, he won the gold medal in the Maharashtra Kesari competition, which is considered an important competition in Maharashtra.

Kishor Dange was born into a poor family in Jalna. He became interested in bodybuilding in 2003, drawing inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was also the governor of California. He always wanted to make history in the Indian bodybuilding field, which is why he chose this field as his career. His father was a police constable, and at that time, their income was 3000 rupees per month. Because of this, Kishor started to drive auto rickshaws in Jalna, and the income from that he spent on his diet and workouts. In 2013, he won the gold medal for India in the World Police and Fire Games, where police from 77 countries participated. He aims to win the Mr Olympia trophy for India. Currently, he is working as a police constable in the Jalna police force.

It is one of the oldest and modernised talim in the district. Started by the famous wrestler Charan Pehlwan, now his son, wrestler Dr. Dayanand Bhakt, operates the talim. Students from across the district come here to learn wrestling. All the facilities like the gym, wrestling on a mat, and wrestling in mud are available in this Talim.