Around 70 teams from 26 States & 6 UTs to Participate in Junior National Kho Kho Championship at Karnataka 

It is a festival of Kho Kho in which young talents from  across the country will compete for the title. It is also a platform for the junior talents to showcase their skills. Identification of the talent and its recognition plays an important role in promoting sport and sportspersons as we religiously aim for Kho Kho’s inclusion in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics-  Sudhanshu Mittal, President, Kho Kho Federation of India 

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: Around 35 boys and as many girls teams are expected to participate in the 44th Junior National Kho Kho Championship 2025-26 scheduled from Dec 31, 2025 to January 4, 2026 at Gunjur, Bengaluru.

Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Delhi are the Union Territories participating in the Championship. Apart from States, teams representing recognised Kho Kho Associations like Kolhapur, Vidarbha, and Madhya Bharat will also battle it out for the title in the Championship which will be on the league-cum-knockout basis.

All eyes would be on Maharashtra which won the 43rd Junior National Kho Kho Championship held at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, from November 25 to 29, 2024, in both boys’ and girls’ categories.

The pre-quarter final matches in both boys and girls categories will be held in the morning while quarter final matches in afternoon on January 03. On January 04, semi finals would be conducted in the morning and finals after it. Both boys’ and girls’ teams have been divided in 8 groups each.

“Other than referees, as many as 25 officials, including technical officials, coaches, and officials from the association, have been deployed for the preparations and smooth conduct of the Championship. Arrangements for the boarding and lodging of players have been made within a 3-4 km vicinity of the stadium, and 10 buses have been deployed for their conveyance,” said Sri Lokeshwara, President of Karnataka State Kho Kho Association. The Championship is being held at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Gunjur.

Sudhanshu Mittal. 

“It is a festival of Kho Kho in which young talents from across the country will compete for the title. It is also a platform for the junior talents to showcase their skills. Identification of the talent and its recognition plays an important role in promoting sport and sportspersons as we religiously aim for Kho Kho’s inclusion in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics,” said Shri Sudhanshu Mittal, President, Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI).

General Secretary, KKFI, Upkar Singh Virk said, “All preparations are in place for the smooth conduct of the Championship. Our focus is on the development of athletes and infrastructure.”

Dr. M.S. Tyagi, Chairman, Administration & Organisation, KKFI said, “Watching these young athletes compete fills me with hope. Our role is to guide and support them in all possible ways.”

India will host the first Commonwealth Kho Kho Championship from March 9-14, 2026, while the 58th Senior National Kho Kho Championship (Men & Women) 2025-26 from January 11-15, 2026, in Kazipet, Telangana, and the 35th Sub-Junior National Kho Kho Championship (Boys & Girls) 2025-26 in Kurukshetra, Haryana from 31st January 2026 to 4th February 2026.