Sudhanshu Mittal re-elected as KKFI chief, Upkar Singh Virk new secretary

BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal was on Wednesday re-elected as president while Upkar Singh Virk became the new secretary of the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI), at its governing body meeting here.

The election was overseen by returning officer Kamini Lau, a retired district judge.

Govind Sharma of Maharashtra Kho Kho Association was elected as the treasurer of the new regime.


Virk of Punjab Kho Kho Association served as the joint secretary in the last governing body while Sharma was an executive member in the same.

The governing body includes eight vice presidents -- Bhawar Singh Palara (Rajasthan Kho Kho Association), Kalyan Chatterjee (West Bengal Kho Kho Association), Kamaljeet Arora (Chattisgarh Amateur Kho Kho Association), Lokeshwara (Karnataka State Kho Kho Association), N Madhusudon Singh (Manipur Amateur Kho Kho Association), M Seetha Rami Reddy (Andhra Pradesh Kho Kho Association), Pradyumna Mishra (Odisha Kho Kho Association) and Rajib Prakash Baruah (Assam Kho Kho Association).

Besides, there are four joint secretaries in A Nelson Samuel (Tamil Nadu Game Kho Kho Association), L R Verma (Himachal Pradesh Kho Kho Association), Sanjay Yadav (Madhya Pradesh Amateur Kho Kho Association) and Sunil K Naik (All Goa Kho Kho Association).

The executive members include Amrinder Pal Singh (Jammu & Kashmir State Kho Kho Association), Anup Chakraborty (Sikkim Kho Kho Association), Bijan Kumar Das (West Bengal Kho Kho Association), Gurchand Singh (Punjab Kho Kho Association), M V S S Prasad (Andhra Pradesh Kho Kho Association), Neeraj Kumar (Kho Kho Association of Bihar), N Krishnamurthy (Telangana Kho Kho Association), Pramod Kumar Pandey (Kho Kho Association of D&NH and DD), Puto Bui

(Kho Kho Association of Arunachal Pradesh), Rajat Sharma (Uttaranchal Kshetra Kho Kho Association), Sanjeev Sharma (Chandigarh Kho Kho Association), Santosh Prasad (Jharkhand State Kho Kho Association) and Surya Prakash Khatri (Kho Kho Association of Delhi).

Speaking after the declaration of results, Mittal said, "It is an honour to once again be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the Kho Kho Federation of India. Over the past few years, we have worked tirelessly to elevate the sport's national and international profile.

"This renewed mandate inspires us to accelerate our vision for Kho Kho's global recognition and institutional growth."

Working towards kho kho's inclusion in 2030 Asian Games and 2032 Olympics

Mittal, a former BJP Member of Parliament, also said that indigenous sports like kho kho should be a part of multi-sports events like the Asian Games and the Olympics.

"We now have 58 countries who are playing kho kho and we intend to take it to 90 nations this year. After that, we will take up our case with the International Olympic Committee," said Mittal, who is also the president of the International Kho Kho Federation.

"We expect to be a part of the Asian Games in 2030 and the Olympics in 2032. We will leave no stone unturned to achieve that goal."