The Indian team were placed in Group A and defeated Nepal, Brazil, Peru and Bhutan in the group stages. In the quarterfinals, India defeated Bangladesh and beat South Africa 62-42 in the semifinals. In the finals, India defeated Nepal 54-36 to lift their maiden World Cup.
Sponsorship
The Indian National kho kho teams are sponsored by the Odisha state government for a period of three years from January 2025 to December 2027. Odisha committed Rs 5 crore per year for a total of Rs.15 crore for three years.[5]
Format
It was played under the seven-a-side fast format used for Ultimate Kho Kho.[6] The teams were split into four groups, and there were two stages: the group stage, followed by the knockout stage.[7]
Group Stage
In the group stage of the men's tournament, teams were divided into four groups of five teams for the initial round-robin phase, with each team competing against others in their group to determine standings. A total of 40 matches were played in this stage.
Knockout Stage
In the knockout stage of both men's and women's tournaments, the top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage, including quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final match.
Prizes
There were no cash prizes, but the teams were honored with trophies, medals, and other recognitions.[8]
Background
The trophy and mascots for the inaugural edition were unveiled on 3 January 2025 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.[9] The blue trophy is for the men's competition while the green trophy is for the women's.[10]
Participants
The event witnessed the participation of 23 countries from six continents, featuring 20 men's and 19 women's teams.[7] Each squad had 15 players, one coach, one manager and international technical officials.[11]
Canada (men's team only) and Pakistan had been due to participate, but the Canadian team pulled out due to worsening Canada–India relations,[12] while the Pakistani team was not granted visas.[13] In total, 35 countries sought to participate, but restrictions were in place to ensure continental balance.[14]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
(2025)
