Kho Kho World Cup

Kho Kho World Cup

Most recent season or competition: 2025 Kho Kho World Cup
Sport	Kho kho
Founded	2025;0 years ago (2025)
Motto	The World Goes Kho
No. of teams	M: 20 W: 19
Region	International
Venue(s)	Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India
Most recent champion(s)	M:  India (1st title) W:  India (1st title)
Most titles	M:  India (1 title) W:  India (1 title)
Official website	Website

The Kho Kho World Cup is an international kho kho tournament. ^[1] It is sanctioned by the International Kho Kho Federation. ^[2]

The first Kho Kho World Cup took place in New Delhi, India from 13 to 19 January 2025. ^[3] It witnessed the participation of 23 countries from six continents, featuring 20 men’s and 19 women’s teams. ^[4] It was played under the seven-a-side fast format, which is used for Ultimate Kho Kho. ^[5] India won both the Men's and Women's titles in the inaugural edition, while staying unbeaten throughout the tournament.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

The Kho Kho World Cup is the pinnacle of international competition for the sport of kho kho, governed by the International Kho Kho Federation to promote and globalize it.

The 2025 Kho Kho World Cup was hosted by India, the birthplace of kho kho. The event took place in 2025, from January 13 to 19, at the Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi. A total of 23 nations from six continents participated, featuring 20 men’s teams and 19 women’s teams. The Kho Kho Federation of India and the International Kho Kho Federation organized the event. The next World Cup will be in 2026-27 in Birmingham, England. ^[6]

Format

The matches adopt a fast-paced seven-a-side format, similar to the one used in Ultimate Kho Kho. There are two stages: the group stage, followed by the knockout stage.

Group Stage

In the group stage, teams are divided into four groups for the initial round-robin phase, each team competes against others in their group to determine standings.

Knockout Stage

In the knockout stage, the top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, including quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final match.

Results

Men

Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Teams
2025	Delhi	India	54–36 Result	Nepal	20

Women

Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Teams
2025	Delhi	India	78–40 Result	Nepal	19

Performance record

Legend

C Champions RU Runners-up SF Semi-finalist QF Quarter-finilist

GS Group Stage Q Qualified × Did not qualify Hosts

Men's

Team	2025	2026	Appearances
Argentina	GS		1
Australia	GS		1
Bangladesh	QF		1
Bhutan	GS		1
Brazil	GS		1
England	QF		1
Germany	GS		1
Ghana	GS		1
India	C		1
Iran	SF		1
Kenya	QF		1
Malaysia	GS		1
Nepal	RU		1
Netherlands	GS		1
Peru	GS		1
Poland	GS		1
South Africa	SF		1
South Korea	GS		1
Sri Lanka	QF		1
United States	GS		1

Women's

Team	2025	2026	Appearances
Australia	GS		1
Bangladesh	QF		1
Bhutan	GS		1
England	GS		1
Germany	GS		1
India	C		1
Indonesia	GS		1
Iran	QF		1
Kenya	QF		1
Malaysia	GS		1
Nepal	RU		1
Netherlands	GS		1
New Zealand	QF		1
Peru	GS		1
Poland	GS		1
South Africa	SF		1
South Korea	GS		1
Sri Lanka	GS		1
Uganda	SF		1

Statistics

Men's

Team	Appearances			Statistics
	Total	First	Latest	Played	Won	Lost	Draw	NR	Win%
India	1	2025	2025	6	6	0	0	0	100 %
Nepal	1	2025	2025	7	5	2	0	0	71.42 %
Iran	1	2025	2025	6	5	1	0	0	83.33 %
South Africa	1	2025	2025	6	4	2	0	0	66.66 %
Bangladesh	1	2025	2025	5	4	1	0	0	80 %
England	1	2025	2025	5	4	1	0	0	80 %
Sri Lanka	1	2025	2025	5	3	2	0	0	60 %
Kenya	1	2025	2025	5	3	2	0	0	60 %
Australia	1	2025	2025	4	2	2	0	0	50 %
Bhutan	1	2025	2025	4	2	2	0	0	50 %
Ghana	1	2025	2025	4	2	2	0	0	50 %
South Korea	1	2025	2025	4	1	2	1	0	25 %
United States	1	2025	2025	4	1	2	1	0	25 %
Argentina	1	2025	2025	4	1	3	0	0	25 %
Malaysia	1	2025	2025	4	1	3	0	0	25 %
Peru	1	2025	2025	4	1	3	0	0	25 %
Brazil	1	2025	2025	4	0	4	0	0	0 %
Germany	1	2025	2025	4	0	4	0	0	0 %
Netherlands	1	2025	2025	4	0	4	0	0	0 %
Poland	1	2025	2025	4	0	4	0	0	0 %

Women's

Team	Appearances			Statistics
	Total	First	Latest	Played	Won	Lost	Draw	NR	Win%
India	1	2025	2025	6	6	0	0	0	100 %
Nepal	1	2025	2025	7	6	1	0	0	85.71 %
South Africa	1	2025	2025	6	5	1	0	0	83.33 %
Uganda	1	2025	2025	6	4	2	0	0	66.66 %
Bangladesh	1	2025	2025	5	3	2	0	0	60 %
Kenya	1	2025	2025	5	3	2	0	0	60 %
New Zealand	1	2025	2025	5	3	2	0	0	60 %
Iran	1	2025	2025	4	2	2	0	0	50 %
England	1	2025	2025	4	3	1	0	0	75 %
Peru	1	2025	2025	4	2	2	0	0	50 %
Sri Lanka	1	2025	2025	4	2	2	0	0	50 %
South Korea	1	2025	2025	3	1	2	0	0	33.33 %
Australia	1	2025	2025	4	1	3	0	0	25 %
Bhutan	1	2025	2025	4	1	3	0	0	25 %
Poland	1	2025	2025	4	1	3	0	0	25 %
Malaysia	1	2025	2025	3	0	3	0	0	0 %
Germany	1	2025	2025	4	0	4	0	0	0 %
Indonesia	1	2025	2025	4	0	4	0	0	0 %
Netherlands	1	2025	2025	4	0	4	0	0	0 %

Team debuts

Men's

Year	Teams	Number	Total
2025	Argentina   Australia   Bangladesh   Bhutan   Brazil   England   Germany   Ghana   India   Iran   Kenya   Malaysia     Nepal   Netherlands   Peru   Poland   South Africa   South Korea   Sri Lanka   United States	20	20

Women's

Year	Teams	Number	Total
2025	Australia   Bangladesh   Bhutan   England   Germany   India   Indonesia   Iran   Kenya   Malaysia     Nepal   Netherlands   New Zealand   Peru   Poland   South Africa   South Korea   Sri Lanka   Uganda	19	19

References

1. "First-ever Kho Kho World Cup to Take Place in India Next Year". News18. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
2. "India to host first-ever Kho Kho World Cup in 2025 - The Economic Times". m.economictimes.com. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
3. "'Come 2032, Kho Kho Shall Be in the Olympics': KKFI President Sudhanshu Mittal Eyes International Recognition For Sport". News18. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
4. Kho Kho World Cup 2025: India to host historic first edition in New Delhi - full schedule olympics.com
5. "General 4". International Kho Kho Federation. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
6. India, The Hans (20 January 2025). "Kho Kho has now caught momentum at full speed and it will not stop: KKFI president". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 20 January 2025.