ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India once again backs ‘OdishaJuggernauts’ as the Principal Team Sponsor for the second edition of Ultimate Kho Kho League

By Puja Devjani Mishra

Bhubaneswar, Dec 17: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) – a joint venture between

ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, two of the world’s leading steelmakers – today announced an agreement with Odisha Sports Development and Promotion Company (OSDPC), a state government body, to become the Principal Team Sponsor of the state’s Kho Kho franchise, the Odisha Juggernauts, for the second edition of Ultimate Kho Kho League.

Earlier in 2022, AM/NS India had partnered as the principal team sponsor of the team, which clinched the title of the inaugural edition of Ultimate Kho Kho. The continued sponsorship stems from the company’s belief in the team and is also an extension of the company’s support and commitment to

advance sporting excellence in Odisha and India.

The defending champions, Odisha Juggernauts, will participate in the national tournament that commences on December 24, 2023, and will be played at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Keiji Kubota, Deputy Director, HR & Administration, AM/NS India; and Mr.

Ranjit Parida, Joint Secretary, Department of Sports, Government of Odisha, as well as Director of OSDPC.

India's first-ever professional Kho Kho League, Ultimate Kho Kho, was launched in 2022 with an objective to modernise and popularise the game, one of the oldest forms of outdoor sport in India. The league aims to promote Kho Kho as an ancient sport and give its best players prospects for professional careers.

The introduction of professional league also comes amid a resurgence of Kho Kho across South Asia and further afield, in countries such as England and South Africa.

In a significant stride towards nurturing Kho Kho talent in the state, recently on November 9, 2023, AM/NS India inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sports Department of Government of Odisha to establish a High-Performance Centre in Kho Kho.

The aim is to transform Odisha into a premier Kho Kho excellence hub for India. As per the agreement, the Government of Odisha will create and maintain the infrastructure of a Kho Kho High Performance Centre (HPC), a facility to be housed in Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar while AM/NS India will operate and manage the HPC and train the Kho Kho players.

 It will also coach and develop judges for the sport along with their certifications. On the partnership Mr. R Vineel Krishna, Commissioner-cum- Secretary, Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha and Chairman OSDPC, said, “Our team Odisha Juggernauts’ winning performance in the first edition of the Ultimate Kho Kho was highly inspiring.

We are glad to again have AM/NS India as our partner for the second edition. This year the league is taking place in Odisha and people of our state can witness in person the speed, agility and thrill of this unique ancient sport of India.

Wishing our team Odisha Juggernauts the very best.”On the occasion, Mr. Keiji Kubota, Deputy Director, HR & Administration, AM/NS India, said, “AM/NS India strongly believes in the power of sports as a medium to groom and develop our youth and create a better world.

The various initiatives of the Odisha Government for promotion of sports are highly laudable. We take pride in partnering with them in several sporting initiatives like hockey, gymnastics, kho kho. As the Team Sponsor of Odisha Juggernauts in the first edition of Ultimate Kho Kho in 2022, we were thrilled and proud of their winning performance. We firmly believe in the team and are again backing them as the Team Sponsor for the second edition.

 We wish the team Odisha Juggernauts the very best and look forward to their continued

excellent show.”