For the first time in history, the Indian men’s and women’s Kho-Kho teams made history by winning the inaugural Kho-Kho World Cup 2025 held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. Both teams beat Nepal in their respective finals and bagged the Kho-Kho World Cup titles.
Men’s Kho-Kho Final: India Wins 54-36
The Indian men’s Kho-Kho team dominated Nepal in the final and won the first-ever Kho-Kho World Cup title by 54-36. Nepal won the toss and chose to defend, however, India capitalized on their chance to attack. At the end of Turn 1, the hosts were in a strong position with a 26-0 lead and they were never behind in the game.
Despite Nepal’s efforts in Turn 2 to cut the deficit to 26-18, India’s strong performance in Turn 3 saw them extend their lead to 54-18. Nepal could not recover from the large gap in the final turn, and India held on to secure a historic victory. India remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, overcoming Sri Lanka and South Africa in the knockout stages after topping Group A.
Women’s Kho-Kho Final: India Win 78-40
The women’s team for India also succeeded in the final against Nepal and won with 78-40. Nepal called the toss to allow India to start attacking; it was, however, a wrong choice. India created a great environment from the first turn itself under the captain, Priyanka Ingle, with a thumping 34-0 margin at the end of Turn 1.
Despite Nepal’s attempts to regroup, India’s defense was unyielding, allowing Nepal to reduce the gap to just 35-24 by Turn 2. India’s attacking prowess continued in Turn 3 as they extended their lead to 73-24. A strong defensive effort in the final turn sealed the victory for India, who also remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.
The Women’s Kho-Kho team, as was the case with their male counterparts, emerged at the top of Group A and qualified for the final after a couple of comfortable wins over Bangladesh and South Africa.
India has witnessed double history-making triumphs at the Kho-Kho World Cup 2025 and both the men’s and women’s Kho-Kho teams showed great promise and determination while claiming the title.
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye