BHUBANESWAR: Till two years back, Lipun Mukhi worked as a salesman in an optical store in Balasore and during his free hours, sold fish in his brother’s shop to supplement his family income. Today, the 24-year-old is a national-level kho kho player.
A member of the Odisha Juggernauts team that emerged champion in the first Ultimate Kho Kho League - India’s first ever professional kho kho league - held recently at Pune, Lipun’s impressive performance as an attacker has put the spotlight on him. He played two matches in the tournament.
His journey from native Parkhi village in Balasore to Pune, though, wasn’t an easy one. Born to Bijay Mukhi and Bimala Mukhi who are farmers, Lipun was introduced to the game of kho kho when he was in Class - IX at Balkrishna High School by his brother Sipun.
Sipun, too, is a kho kho player who has played in the junior national championship. While continuing their education, the brothers worked partime to fund their education and add to the family income. The brothers never received any professional training in kho kho. Amidst the struggle, Lipun did not give up on the game.
“My elder brother coached me and we used to practice at my school ground till last year. Despite my lack of proper training, my brother made sure that I took part in State and national level championships,” recalled Lipun who was a member of the Odisha men’s team that finished runners-up in the 21st East Zone Senior Kho Kho Championship in West Bengal in 2018.
The young sportsman has so far represented Odisha in six senior national kho kho championships. “Last year, I took part in the 54th Senior National Kho Kho Championship at Jabalpur where I received a call from the Odisha Juggernauts team to join it,” he said and added that only after becoming a part of the Ultimate Kho Kho Championship this year, he realised what playing on a kho kho mat was.
“So far I had only played on the bare ground. This was new to me and I found it very difficult because it needed more effort to generate the speed,” he said. Lipun increased his practice hours to play on the matted ground in Pune and his efforts at the championship paid off. Odisha Juggernauts team clinched the coveted title of Ultimate Kho Kho Champions after beating Telugu Yoddhas 46-45 at the finals at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. The team was awarded `1 crore prize money.
“The best part about a game like kho kho is that you do not need much financial support. If the State government continues to support players like me, many players at the grassroots will be benefitted,” said Lipun.