Opinaben Devjibhai Bhilar (born 8 July 2001)[1] is an Indian kho kho player from Gujarat. She plays for the India women's national kho kho team as an allrounder.[2] She was part of the Indian women’s team that won the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup held at New Delhi in January 2025.[3]

Early life and education

Bhilar is from Biliamba village, Dang district, Gujarat. Her Devjibhai Bhilar is a farmer. After studying till Class 8 at Biliamba Primary School in her village, she moved to District Level Sports School, Tapi and trained under her first coach Sunil Mistry.[4]

Career

Bhilar represented Gujarat in four Senior National Kho Kho Championships and in 2023 Gujarat finished 7th at Delhi, where Bhilar was selected among the probables for the senior national camp.[4]

In 2018, she shifted to athletics, as she was good in sprints too, and joined the academy at Vadodara. During her short stint in athletics, she suffered an ACL injury in 2019 but she worked hard on rehab during the Covid lockdown and came back to kho kho in 2021.[4]

She was part of the Indian women's team that won the first Kho Kho World Cup at New Delhi in January 2025.[5][6] The Indian team defeated South Korea, IR Iran and Malaysia in the group stages, Bangladesh in quarterfinals and South Africa in semifinals. They defeated Nepal 78–40 in the final.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ https://kheloindia.gov.in/uploads/Final_Players_Pune_KIYG_2019.pdf Serial number 4037
  2. ^ "Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) - KKFI Official Website". Kho Kho Federation. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Indian Women create history at Kho Kho World Cup 2025 with commanding victory over rivals Nepal to secure coveted trophy". The Tribune. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Gujarat farmer's daughter helps India clinch first Kho Kho World Cup title". The Times of India. 20 January 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  5. ^ IANS (15 January 2025). "Kho Kho World Cup: Indian women make history with 157-point rout of South Korea". The Statesman. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  6. ^ Krishnan, Vivek (9 January 2025). "Waikar to lead Indian men's team in Kho Kho WC". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  7. ^ Livemint (19 January 2025). "Indian women win first-ever Kho Kho World Cup 2025; PM Modi hails 'historic' victory | Mint". mint. Archived from the original on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opina_Bhilar
No tags for this post.