Krishnanduvil B. Nikhil (born 2001) [1] is an Indian kho kho player from Kerala. He plays for the India men's national kho kho team as an all-rounder. [2] He was part of the Indian men's team that won the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup held at New Delhi in January 2025. [3] [4] He played for Rajasthan Warriors in the first season and was picked up by Odisha Juggernauts for the second season in the Ultimate Kho Kho, a franchise based league tournament. [5]
Nikhil is from Kuriyathi village, Uzhamalakkal panchayat, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. He is the son of A. Binu Kumar, a truck driver, and homemaker Bindu, a former kho kho player. She introduced Nikhil to kho kho, and he has a twin brother, Nidhim and another brother. [1] He did his schooling at Sree Narayana Higher Secondary School. His first coach in the school was S. Sanjay Kumar. [6] He completed his bachelor's degree in physical education. He played for SNSC Kerala team. [7]
In January 2025, he was part of the Indian team that won the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup at New Delhi. [8] The Indian team were placed in Group A and defeated Nepal, Brazil, [9] Peru and Bhutan in the group stages. In the quarterfinals, India defeated Sri Lanka and beat South Africa 62–42 in the semifinals. [10] [11] In the finals, India defeated Nepal 54–36 to lift their maiden World Cup. [12]
In domestic events, he represented Kerala in the Senior National Kho Kho Championship and won a bronze medal. He also participated in the Khelo India Youth Games and won a silver medal as part of the Kerala team. [7]