https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Sarika_KaleSarika Kale - Revision history2026-10-25T19:03:00ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarika_Kale&diff=533224&oldid=prevPandit debotosh dey: Made new entry and citations2026-02-11T07:11:38Z<p>Made new entry and citations</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Indian kho kho sportswoman}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Sarikaa Kale and Kishan katariya<br />
| implies =<br />
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| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --><br />
| birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per [[WP:DOB]]. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --><br />
| birth_place = Umbre Kota village, [[Osmanabad district]], [[Maharashtra]], India<br />
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --><br />
| death_place = <br />
| other_names = <br />
| occupation = Kho-Kho player<br />
| years_active = 2006–present<br />
| known_for = Captain of India women's national kho kho team<br />
| awards = [[Shiv Chhatrapati Award]] (2016)<br />[[Arjuna Award]] (2020)<br />
| notable_works = <br />
}}<br />
'''Sarika Kale''' is an Indian [[kho kho]] player from [[Maharashtra]]. She became the captain of the Maharashtra women's state kho kho team in 2010, leading the team to three national championships. Selected for the India women's national kho kho team in 2015, she was named captain of the team before the [[2016 South Asian Games]]. She led the team to victory in the South Asian Games and in the Third Asian Kho-Kho Championship, where she received the match winner award in the final against Bangladesh.<br />
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Coming from a poor family in the [[Osmanabad district]], Kale struggled financially for years due to unemployment. Her achievements in kho kho have been recognised by the [[Government of Maharashtra]] and the [[Government of India]]. She was the recipient of her state's [[Shiv Chhatrapati Award]] in 2016 and the [[Arjuna Award]] in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The sports star who could afford just one meal a day|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-56094393|access-date=2021-02-23}}</ref><br />
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== Personal life ==<br />
Kale was born in Umbre Kota village, [[Osmanabad district]], Maharashtra.<ref name="Sakal2020">{{Cite news |url=https://www.esakal.com/marathwada/osmanabad-news-sarika-kale-announce-arjuna-award-335413|title=मराठवाड्यासाठी गौरवास्पद : उस्मानाबादच्या सारिका काळेला अर्जुन पुरस्कार जाहीर |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=19 August 2020 |work=[[Sakal]] |last=Jadhvar |first=Tanaji |language=Marathi}}</ref> Hers was a very poor family and her father, mother, and grandmother made efforts to support her sporting career.<ref name="Sakal2020" /> She attended Shripatrao Bhosale High School in [[Osmanabad]] from first to twelfth grade, and attended Terna Mahavidyalaya in the city for her undergraduate programme.<ref name="Sakal2020" /> She received her postgraduate degree from Arts Science and Commerce College, [[Naldurg]].<ref name="Sakal2020" /><br />
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In 2016, she was struggling financially even as the captain of the national team and approached the [[Airports Authority of India]] for a job.<ref name="MidDay2016">{{Cite news |url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/indias-kho-kho-team-captain-sarika-is-jobless/17003157 |title=India's Kho-Kho Team Captain Sarika Is Jobless |date=4 March 2016 |access-date=19 August 2020 |last=Mayure |first=Subodh |work=[[Mid-Day]]}}</ref> She had also applied for a job in the [[Indian Railways]] in 2014 without success.<ref name="MidDay2016" /><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Kale developed interest in kho kho and started playing it at the age of 10.<ref name="Kreedon2019">{{Cite web |url=https://www.kreedon.com/top-5-famous-kho-kho-players-2019/ |title=India's Top 5 Famous Kho Kho Players in 2019 |publisher=Kreedon.com |date=15 April 2019 |access-date=19 August 2020 |last=Sharma |first=Nandini}}</ref> Kho kho is one of the popular traditional sports of India, played across the country.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Britannica Guide to India |work=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |isbn=9781593398477 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Constable & Robinson]] |page=360}}</ref> Kale was selected for the Maharashtra women's state kho kho team in 2006 and has participated in 25 different national championships and tournaments with the team.<ref name="Sakal2020" /><ref name="Kreedon2019" /> She became the captain of the state team in 2010 and led it to three national championships.<ref name="Loksatta2020">{{Cite news |url=https://www.loksatta.com/maharashtra-news/maharashtra-girl-sarika-kale-wins-arjuna-award-for-kho-kho-vjb-91-2250281/ |title=मराठमोळ्या सारिका काळेला अर्जुन पुरस्कार जाहीर |work=[[Loksatta]] |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=20 August 2020 |language=Marathi}}</ref><br />
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In 2015, Kale joined the national team of India and was named captain of the team in 2016. The India team won the gold medal at the [[Kho-Kho at the 2016 South Asian Games|2016 South Asian Games]], held at [[Guwahati]].<ref name="Sakal2020" /> At the Third Asian Kho-Kho Championship at [[Indore]] in April 2016, her team defeated Bangladesh in the final match by a score of 26–16, with Kale winning the match winner award. She received a cash prize of {{INR}}51,000 for her performance in the championship.<ref name="HindustanTimes2016">{{Cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/indore/indore-indian-teams-clinch-asian-kho-kho-championship-title/story-mWqoWV3Hq4kFzgeQ6YZOlO.html |title=Indore: Indian teams clinch Asian Kho Kho championship title |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=10 April 2016 |access-date=20 August 2020 |location=Indore}}</ref><br />
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== Awards and honours ==<br />
Kale has received numerous awards and recognition, including the [[Shiv Chhatrapati Award]] from the Government of Maharashtra.<ref name="Sakal2020" /><ref name="Loksatta2020" /> She was appointed Sports Officer of [[Tuljapur Tahsil]] after her success in the South Asian Games in 2016.<ref name="Sakal2020" /> In 2020, she received the [[Arjuna Award]] from the Government of India's [[Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports]] in recognition of her achievements. She is the first woman athlete from the [[Marathwada region]] of Maharashtra to win the Arjuna Award,<ref name="Sakal2020" /> and the first kho kho player to win the award in 22 years; the last kho kho player to win the award was Shoba Narayan in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://yas.nic.in/arjun-award-winners-kho-kho |title=Arjun Award Winners for "Kho Kho" |access-date=20 August 2020 |publisher=[[Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports]] |website=Yas.nic.in}}</ref> [[Sudhanshu Mittal]], the president of the Kho-Kho Federation of India, [[tweeted]] and called it a "greatest boost to indigenous games [in India]".<ref>{{cite tweet |user=SudhanshuBJP |number=1295932109912018944 |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=20 August 2020 |title=Golden day for Kho Kho. After 22 years, Arjuna Award for Kho Kho player. Captain Sarika Kale awarded. Greatest boost to indigenous games as government focus on developing indigenous games |author-link=Sudhanshu Mittal |last=Mittal |first=Sudhanshu}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
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[[Category:Sportswomen from Maharashtra]]<br />
[[Category:Kho kho players]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century Indian sportswomen]]<br />
[[Category:People from Osmanabad district]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]</div>Pandit debotosh dey