Cuttack, Dec 24 (IANS): Defending champions Odisha Juggernauts began the Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 with a commanding 35-27 victory over Rajasthan Warriors here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

Akshay Masal contributed to the Juggernauts’ win by scoring 8 points, while Rohan Shingade, Avinash Desai, and Gowtham MK stayed on the mat for more than 4 minutes to take their team to the opening win of the season.

In an intense first match, Juggernauts began the game positively as they claimed a total of 16 points during the first turn. They played equally well when they switched to defence and earned two dream points, allowing Rajasthan to get only 10 points in the first innings to strengthen their grip on the match.

Juggernauts were on top of their game in the second inning as well despite Rajasthan earning a dream run. The defending champions got 16 points in the third turn, while Rajasthan managed to pick up 17 points with Majahar Jamadar clinching 4 points through 2 skydives. However, it wasn't enough to bring them back into the game.

Rajasthan Warriors will next be up against Gujarat Giants on Monday, while Chennai Quick Guns will take on Telugu Yoddhas.

The second season of Ultimate Kho Kho was inaugurated earlier in the evening in the presence of Tenzing Niyogi, CEO & League Commissioner, Ultimate Kho Kho, Sudhanshu Mittal, President, Kho Kho Federation of India, Tusharkanti Behera, Odisha's Minister of State for Sports & Youth Services and Indian women's kho kho team captain Nasreen Shaikh alongside Miss India 2020 runner-up Manya Singh.

The owners and representatives of six franchises, Srinath Chittoori (Chennai Quick Guns), Vinay Singh (Gujarat Giants), Punit Balan (Mumbai Khiladis), Ranjit Parida (Odisha Juggernauts), Jigar Shah (Rajasthan Warriors) and PKSV Sagar (Telugu Yoddhas) also attended the glittering opening ceremony.