The first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup starts in New Delhi

The first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup started at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on 13 January 2025. The  Kho Kho World Cup has been organised by the Kho Kho Federation of India with support from the Indian Olympic Association in New Delhi from 13-19 January 2025.

During the World Cup, each team will consist of 12 players, however during a match only 9 players from each team will actually take the field.

Who inaugurated the World Cup?

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup on 13 January 2025. 

The President of the Kho Kho Federation of India Sudhanshu Mittal was also present on the occasion. The 20 countries' men’s teams and 19 countries' women's teams participated in the parade during the opening ceremony.

Team and Participants

The first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup features 20 countries' men's and 19 women’s teams.

The men and women kho kho teams have been divided into four groups.

The 15-member Indian men’s team is led by Pratik Waikar and the women's team is led by Priyanka Ingle.

Men’s Kho Kho Teams

• Group A: India, Peru, Brazil, Bhutan, Nepal,
• Group B: South Africa, Argentina, Netherlands, Ghana, Iran
• Group C: Bangladesh, South Korea,  Poland, the United States of America, Sri Lanka,
• Group D: England, Australia, Germany, Kenya, Malaysia

Women’s Kho Kho teams

• Group A: India, Iran, South Korea, Malaysia,
• Group B: England, Kenya, Uganda, Netherlands, Australia,
• Group C: Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Germany, Bangladesh
• Group D: Peru, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and Indonesia.

The tournament will be played in a round-robin format in the group stages where the teams will play against each other. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage and quarter-finals. 

About Kho Kho Game

According to many experts, the ancient Indian sport of Kho Kho has its origin in Mahabharata. 

• The first Kho Kho tournament was organised in 1914 in Pune and was organised by the Pune Deccan Gymkhana Club which also formulated the rules and regulations of the game.
• At the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, three Indian traditional sports Kho Kho, Kabaddi, and Mallakhamb were included as a demonstration sport.
• It was also introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1982 Delhi Asian Games. 
• The first All India Kho Kho Championship for men was held at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh in 1959-60 while the national championship for women was played in Kolhapur, Maharashtra in 1960-61.
• The first Kho Kho Asian Championship was held in Kolkata in 1996.

Kho Kho Federation of India 

Kho Kho Federation of India is the sports governing body in India. It was set up in 1955.

Headquarters: New Delhi 

President: Sudhansu Mittal