India’s men’s and women’s teams created history on Sunday by defeating Nepal in their respective finals to win the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 title at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
In the title match, the Indian men’s Kho Kho team defeated Nepal 54-36, while the women’s team outscored the Nepal team in the eve by a scoreline of 78-40.
This was the first Kho Kho World Cup. Sponsored by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the tournament featured 20 men’s teams and 19 women’s teams.
In the men’s final, Nepal won the toss and chose to defend their title. India took full advantage of the opportunity to strike first and took control of the game, taking a healthy 26-0 lead at the end of turn one.
In the turn two attack, Nepal managed to reduce the gap to 26-18 despite stiff resistance from the Indian defenders.
The hosts stepped up their attack in Turn 3, overwhelming the Nepalese defenders and opening up a commanding lead of 54-18.
Nepal entered the final turn of the match with a 36-point lead to come back and put up a commendable performance, but it wasn’t enough. India won the match and created history by becoming the first ever Kho Kho World Cup winner.
India remained unbeaten throughout the Kho Kho tournament. They topped Group A with four wins, including a narrow 42-37 victory over Nepal, before defeating Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals and South Africa in the semi-finals.
In the women’s final, Nepal won the toss and asked India to bat first. The decision will come back to haunt the visitors as India quickly picked up points to put pressure on their opponents early on.
India exhausted the first line of the Nepali defense in less than a minute, setting the tone for turn one.
Nepal tried their best to slow down the pace of the match and stop India’s momentum. But India were relentless and captain Priyanka Ingle hit a double to give the hosts a 34-0 lead at the end of the first turn.
The visiting team tried their best in the second turn, but the Indian defense did not allow Nepal much of an attack.
Nepal successfully recovered and narrowed the gap to 35-24 at the end of Turn 2, but India still held the advantage.
In Turn 3, India maintained their dominance as the attacking team, eliminating over six groups of defenders and increasing their lead to 73-24.
The Indian defense made a tight shift in the final corner to secure a comfortable victory and the title of the inaugural Women’s Kho Kho World Cup champion.
The Indian women’s Kho Kho team also made it through the tournament undefeated. They won their three Group A matches, defeating Bangladesh and South Africa in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.