2025 Kho Kho World Cup

The 2025 Kho Kho World Cup was the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup.^[1][2] It was held at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi, India from 13 to 19 January 2025.^[3] The tournament was organized by the Kho Kho Federation of India and the International Kho Kho Federation.^[4]

2025 Kho Kho World Cup

Tournament information
Sport	Kho kho
Dates	13–19 January 2025
Administrator	International Kho Kho Federation
Format	Fast format
Host(s)	India
Venue(s)	Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi
Participants	M: 20 W: 19
Website	Website
Final positions
Champions	M:  India W:  India
Runner-up	M:    Nepal W:    Nepal
Tournament statistics
Matches played	M: 47 W: 43
Most points	M:    Nepal (524) W:  India (628)
2027 →

India defeated Nepal in both the men's and women's competition to be crowned champions.^[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.
• In the group stage of the women's tournament, teams were divided into four groups of five teams each (except in Group A) for the initial round-robin phase, with each team competing against others in their group to determine standings. A total of 36 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]

Men's tournament

Group A  India    Nepal  Peru  Brazil  Bhutan

Group B  South Africa  Ghana  Argentina  Netherlands  Iran

Group C  Bangladesh  Sri Lanka  South Korea  United States  Poland

Group D  England  Germany  Malaysia  Australia  Kenya

Women's tournament

Group A  India  South Korea  Iran  Malaysia  Pakistan WD

Group B  England  Australia  Kenya  Uganda  Netherlands

Group C    Nepal  Bhutan  Sri Lanka  Germany  Bangladesh

Group D  South Africa  New Zealand  Poland  Peru  Indonesia

Men's league stage

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	India (H)	4	4	0	0	249	143	+106	12	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Nepal	4	3	1	0	349	92	+257	9
3	Bhutan	4	2	2	0	196	207	-11	6
4	Peru	4	1	3	0	139	274	-135	3
5	Brazil	4	0	4	0	90	307	-217	0

Source: KKWC 2025
(H) Host

13 January 2025 20:30 IST Result India  42–37    Nepal India won by 5 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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14 January 2025 12:30 IST Result Peru  24–90  Bhutan Bhutan won by 66 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 18:30 IST Result Nepal    80–34  Peru Nepal won by 46 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 20:15 IST Result India  66–34  Brazil India won by 32 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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15 January 2025 11:15 IST Result Nepal    134–8  Brazil Nepal won by 126 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 15:15 IST Result Brazil  14–64  Bhutan Bhutan won by 50 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 20:15 IST Result India  70–38  Peru India won by 32 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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16 January 2025 09:15 IST Result Nepal    98–8  Bhutan Nepal won by 90 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 11:15 IST Result Peru  43–34  Brazil Peru won by 9 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 20:15 IST Result India  71–34  Bhutan India won by 37 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iran	4	4	0	0	376	96	+280	12	Advanced to knockout stage
2	South Africa	4	3	1	0	348	122	+226	9
3	Ghana	4	2	2	0	184	232	-48	6
4	Argentina	4	1	3	0	172	295	-123	3
5	Netherlands	4	0	4	0	96	431	-335	0

Source: KKWC 2025

14 January 2025 10:30 IST Result South Africa  87–32  Ghana South Africa won by 55 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 13:00 IST Result Argentina  14–117  Iran Iran won by 103 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 16:30 IST Result South Africa  125–14  Netherlands South Africa won by 111 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 19:45 IST Result Ghana  50–48  Argentina Ghana won by 2 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

---

15 January 2025 11:15 IST Result Ghana  74–36  Netherlands Ghana won by 38 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 14:45 IST Result South Africa  104–20  Argentina South Africa won by 84 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 17:15 IST Result Netherlands  22–142  Iran Iran won by 120 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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16 January 2025 08:45 IST Result Ghana  28–61  Iran Iran won by 33 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 14:45 IST Result Argentina  90–24  Netherlands Argentina won by 66 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 14:45 IST Result South Africa  32–56  Iran Iran won by 24 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bangladesh	4	4	0	0	332	106	+226	12	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Sri Lanka	4	3	1	0	331	142	+189	9
3	United States	4	1	2	1	205	294	-89	4
4	South Korea	4	1	2	1	171	302	-131	4
5	Poland	4	0	4	0	154	349	-195	0

Source: KKWC 2025

14 January 2025 11:15 IST Result Bangladesh  56–24  Sri Lanka Bangladesh won by 32 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 14:45 IST Result South Korea  77–30  Poland South Korea won by 47 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 17:15 IST Result Bangladesh  85–26  United States Bangladesh won by 59 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

---

15 January 2025 10:30 IST Result Sri Lanka  111–22  United States Sri Lanka won by 89 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 12:30 IST Result Bangladesh  119–10  South Korea Bangladesh won by 109 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 16:00 IST Result United States  95–36  Poland USA won by 59 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 19:45 IST Result Sri Lanka  91–22  South Korea Sri Lanka won by 69 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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16 January 2025 10:00 IST Result Sri Lanka  105–42  Poland Sri Lanka won by 63 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 15:15 IST Result South Korea  62–62  United States Match tied Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 17:45 IST Result Bangladesh  72–46  Poland Bangladesh won by 26 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	4	4	0	0	224	120	+104	12	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Kenya	4	3	1	0	209	160	+49	9
3	Australia	4	2	2	0	233	152	+81	6
4	Malaysia	4	1	3	0	169	160	+9	3
5	Germany	4	0	4	0	80	323	-243	0

Source: KKWC 2025

14 January 2025 11:15 IST Result England  60–38  Germany England won by 22 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 16:00 IST Result Malaysia  28–57  Kenya Kenya won by 29 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 18:30 IST Result England  48–27  Australia England won by 21 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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15 January 2025 10:00 IST Result Germany  12–117  Australia Australia won by 105 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 15:15 IST Result England  52–32  Malaysia England won by 20 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 17:45 IST Result Australia  54–58  Kenya Kenya won by 4 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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16 January 2025 10:30 IST Result Germany  14–71  Kenya Kenya won by 57 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 12:30 IST Result Malaysia  34–35  Australia Australia won by 1 point Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 17:15 IST Result England  64–23  Kenya England won by 41 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 19:45 IST Result Germany  16–75  Malaysia Malaysia won by 59 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Men's knockout stage

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	17 January 2025
	Iran	86
					18 January 2025
	Kenya	18
					Iran	20
	17 January 2025
					Nepal	72
	Bangladesh	18
									19 January 2025
	Nepal	67
									Nepal	36
	17 January 2025
									India	54
	England	38
					18 January 2025
	South Africa	58
					South Africa	42
	17 January 2025
					India	62
	India	100
	Sri Lanka	40

Quarter-finals

Quarter-final 1

17 January 2025 11:45 IST Result Iran  86–18  Kenya Iran won by 68 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Mehrab Moghadambaghe (Iran)

Quarter-final 2

17 January 2025 15:15 IST Result England  38–58  South Africa South Africa won by 20 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Letlhogonolo Stork (South Africa)

Quarter-final 3

17 January 2025 17:45 IST Result Bangladesh  18–67    Nepal Nepal won by 49 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Rajan Bal (Nepal)

Quarter-final 4

17 January 2025 20:15 IST Result India  100–40  Sri Lanka India won by 60 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Ramji Kashyap (India)

Semi-finals

Semi-final 1

18 January 2025 17:45 IST Result Iran  20-72    Nepal Nepal won by 52 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Janak Chand (Nepal)

Semi-final 2

18 January 2025 20:15 IST Result South Africa  42–62  India India won by 20 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Gowtham MK (India)

Final

Main article: 2025 Kho Kho World Cup final § Men's edition

19 January 2025 20:15 IST Result Nepal    36–54  India India won by 18 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Mehul (India)

Women's league stage

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	India (H)	3	3	0	0	375	54	+321	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Iran	3	2	1	0	167	138	+39	6
3	South Korea	3	1	2	0	90	316	-226	3
4	Malaysia	3	0	3	0	80	204	-124	0

Source: KKWC 2025
(H) Host

14 January 2025 19:00 IST Result India  175–18  South Korea India won by 157 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 19:45 IST Result Iran  54–16  Malaysia Iran won by 38 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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15 January 2025 19:00 IST Result India  100–16  Iran India won by 84 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 19:45 IST Result Malaysia  44–50  South Korea South Korea won by 6 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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16 January 2025 16:00 IST Result Iran  97–22  South Korea Iran won by 75 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 19:00 IST Result India  100–20  Malaysia India won by 80 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uganda	4	3	1	0	274	60	+183	9	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Kenya	4	3	1	0	224	67	+92	9
3	England	4	3	1	0	276	115	+47	9
4	Australia	4	1	3	0	128	176	-126	3
5	Netherlands	4	0	4	0	66	222	-196	0

Source: KKWC 2025

14 January 2025 11:45 IST Result England  81–30  Australia England won by 51 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 15:15 IST Result Kenya  119–16  Netherlands Kenya won by 103 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 17:45 IST Result England  30–45  Uganda Uganda won by 15 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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15 January 2025 10:00 IST Result Australia  20–95  Uganda Uganda won by 75 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 12:30 IST Result England  51–40  Kenya England won by 11 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 16:00 IST Result Uganda  103–10  Netherlands Uganda won by 92 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

---

16 January 2025 10:00 IST Result Australia  64–32  Netherlands Australia won by 32 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 11:15 IST Result Kenya  46–31  Uganda Kenya won by 15 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 16:00 IST Result England  114–8  Netherlands England won by 106 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 17:15 IST Result Australia  14–73  Kenya Kenya won by 59 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Nepal	4	4	0	0	349	92	+257	12	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Bangladesh	4	3	1	0	320	97	+2	9
3	Sri Lanka	4	2	2	0	172	75	-61	6
4	Bhutan	4	1	3	0	115	83	-59	3
5	Germany	4	0	4	0	76	73	-39	0

Source: KKWC 2025

14 January 2025 10:00 IST Result Nepal    83–24  Bhutan Nepal won by 59 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 12:30 IST Result Sri Lanka  14–79  Bangladesh Bangladesh won by 65 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 16:00 IST Result Nepal    73–34  Germany Nepal won by 39 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

---

15 January 11:45 IST Result Bhutan  66–22  Germany Bhutan won by 44 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 14:45 IST Result Nepal    110–10  Sri Lanka Nepal won by 100 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 18:30 IST Result Germany  18–105  Bangladesh Bangladesh won by 87 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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16 January 2025 08:45 IST Result Bhutan  6–112  Bangladesh Bangladesh won by 106 points

16 January 2025 13:00 IST Result Sri Lanka  80–2  Germany Sri Lanka won by 78 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 16:30 IST Result Nepal    83–24  Bangladesh Nepal won by 59 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 19:45 IST Result Bhutan  19–65  Sri Lanka Sri Lanka won by 46 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	PS	PL	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Africa	4	4	0	0	347	44	+111	12	Advanced to knockout stage
2	New Zealand	4	3	1	0	248	56	-30	9
3	Peru	4	2	2	0	144	99	-81	6
4	Poland	4	1	3	0	130	58	+2	3
5	Indonesia	4	0	4	0	148	60	-2	0

Source: KKWC 2025

14 January 2025 10:00 IST Result South Africa  56–26  New Zealand South Africa won by 30 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 14:45 IST Result Poland  60–58  Indonesia Poland won by 2 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

14 January 2025 17:15 IST Result South Africa  99–18  Peru South Africa won by 81 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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15 January 2025 13:00 IST Result New Zealand  66–26  Peru New Zealand won by 40 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 16:30 IST Result South Africa  78–2  Poland South Africa won by 76 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

15 January 2025 18:30 IST Result Peru  50–48  Indonesia Peru won by 2 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

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16 January 2025 11:45 IST Result New Zealand  82–30  Indonesia New Zealand won by 52 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 12:30 IST Result Poland  42–50  Peru Peru won by 8 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 2025 18:30 IST Result New Zealand  72–26  Poland New Zealand won by 46 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

16 January 18:30 IST Result South Africa  114–12  Indonesia South Africa won by 102 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi

Women's knockout stage

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	17 January 2025
	Uganda	71
					18 January 2025
	New Zealand	26
					Uganda	18
	17 January 2025
					Nepal	89
	Nepal	103
									19 January 2025
	Iran	8
									Nepal	40
	17 January 2025
									India	78
	South Africa	51
					18 January 2025
	Kenya	46
					South Africa	16
	17 January 2025
					India	66
	India	109
	Bangladesh	16

Quarter-finals

Quarter-final 1

17 January 2025 10:30 IST Result Uganda  71–26  New Zealand Uganda won by 45 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Ojil Grace (Uganda)

Quarter-final 2

17 January 2025 13:00 IST Result South Africa  51–46  Kenya South Africa won by 5 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Londeka Mkhwanazi (South Africa)

Quarter-final 3

17 January 2025 16:30 IST Result Nepal    103–8  Iran Nepal won by 95 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Saraswoti Kadayat (Nepal)

Quarter-final 4

17 January 2025 19:00 IST Result India  109–16  Bangladesh India won by 93 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Ashwani Shinde (India)

Semi-finals

Semi-final 1

18 January 2025 16:30 IST Result Uganda  18–89    Nepal Nepal won by 71 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Puja Odd (Nepal)

Semi-final 2

18 January 2025 19:00 IST Result South Africa  16–66  India India won by 50 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Vaishnavi Bajrang (India)

Final

Main article: 2025 Kho Kho World Cup final § Women's edition

19 January 2025 19:00 IST Result Nepal    40–78  India India won by 38 points Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi Player of the match: Chaithra B (India)