Bemetara (Chhattisgarh), Dec 27 (IANS): Defending champions Maharashtra marked their arrival at the Chhattisgarh Amateur Kho Kho Association-organised 53rd Senior National Kho Kho Championships with two victories in a day at Allons Public School Ground here on Friday. Maharashtra started the second day of the competition with a 15-9 win over Andaman and Nicobar Islands and then went on to thrash Chandigarh 18-2 in a one-sided affair in a Group A match.

Sagar Langare impressed with an all-round show. He defended for a total of three minutes 30 seconds and scored one point against Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also clinched three points against Chandigarh. Kiran Waikar and Akshay Ganpule also put up impressive shows in attack as well as defence for Maharashtra during their second game, against Chandigarh. While Waikar defended for a total of three minutes and 40 seconds and scored three points in attack, Ganpule defended for a total of two minutes 30 seconds and also scored three points in attack.

The Kolhapur women's team also made a winning start in the competition with Puducherry 12-6 in a Group H encounter.

Hosts Chhattisgarh had mixed luck in their opening encounter on Friday as their men's team beat Goa 14-8 in a Group B while the women's team suffered a 8-6 defeat against West Bengal in their Group F match.

In a Group C encounter, Vinay Pradhan produced an all-round show to help Gujarat clinch a 14-12 victory against Rajasthan. Pradhan defended for a total of four minutes 10 seconds and also scored four points in attack. Later, Gujarat registered their second victory of the day when they beat Uttarakhand 18-7.