“Development and promotion of indigenous sports like Kho Kho has been a focus for Odisha and the State teams have performed commendably well at the National level. This venture will give added impetus to the sport in the state and draw more players especially from the rural belts,” he added.

The new jersey will make its in-game debut at the first match of this inaugural season that will be played by Odisha Juggernauts on 15 August in Pune. The UKK League will take place from August 14 to September 4. The Odisha Sports Development and Promotion Company (OSDPC)-owned team Odisha Juggernauts will be the fifth franchise in the league with Ashwani Kumar Sharma as their Head Coach.

Odisha Juggernauts comprises 25 players with six from Odisha in the state franchise and 10 in the League. OSDPC is collaborating with leading steel manufacturer Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Limited (AM/NS India) and will be working closely in Ultimate Kho Kho.

Head Coach, Ashwani Kumar Sharma, shared, “We have a very balanced side and our pre-season camp in Bhubaneswar also went really well. Odisha has been doing really well in kho-kho and they have also medals in recent junior nationals and Khelo India Youth Games.”

Team captain and senior most players Dipesh Vijay More said, “The trust that the coaches have bestowed on me by declaring me as the captain of Odisha Juggernauts is a big achievement. My prime goal would be to give our very best and keep the team together and motivated at all times.”

“We have a really good team with some of top players of the country like Milind Dilip Chavrekar and Gowtham MK. All the teams are equally balanced and the competition would be tough, but we assure that we will give our 100% in each and every match,” More added.

Odia player Jagannatha Murmu (Grade A) said, “Previously, we did not have much facilities for kho-kho, but in the recent years with the intervention of the State government, our game has improved a lot and many players from Odisha have chosen to make a career out of kho-kho. In the draft, the Odisha franchise took me in their team and there can not be anything better for an Odia to play for his home franchise.”

ODISHA JUGGERNAUTS SQUAD:
Defenders: Gowtham MK, Gurjinder Singh, Suresh Kumar, Swayam Satyaprakash Parija, Thungana Vinod Kumar, Vishal.
Attackers: Darshanapu Sathish, Dinesh Naik, Lipun Mukhi, Mahesha P, Manoj Narayanrao Ghotekar, Mukesh Prajapat, Shiv Kumar Sen, Suraj Shital Lande.
Allrounders: Dipesh Vijay More (Captain), Milind Dilip Chavrekar (Captain), Aditya Sunil Kudale, Arjun Singh, Avinash Shivaji Desai, Dilip Ratan Khandavi, Jagannath Murmu, Nilesh Ananda Jadav, Subhasis Santra, Siddheswar Tudu, Sukanth Singh.
Team Staff: Lilan Kumar Sahu (Manager), Ashwani Kumar Sharma (Head Coach), Vinay Kumar Jaiswal and Rajesh Roshan Pradhan (both Assistant Coaches), Kunal Gusain and Sambit Mishra (both Officials).
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TOP: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiles the jersey of Odisha Juggernauts for the first edition of the Ultimate Kho Kho League at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on 1 August 2022.
RIGHT: Local players of Odisha Juggernauts (L to R) Lipun Mukhi, Swayam Satyaprakash Parija, Sukanath Sing, Arjun Singh, Jagannatha Murmu and Siddheshwar Tudu pose in Bhubaneswar on 1 August 2022.