Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya felicitates winning teams of Kho Kho World Cup 2025, lauds players for making nation proud

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya felicitated the World Cup-winning Kho Kho teams on Wednesday here. The Indian men and women teams scripted history after clinching the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup titles at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on January 19. Both teams defeated Nepal in their respective finals.

Present on Wednesday morning was the full squad of the men’s and women’s Kho Kho teams as well as the coaches, Sudhanshu Mittal, President of the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) and other officials from the Union Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India.

Talking about the resurgence of traditional games in the nation, Dr Mandaviya said, “Traditional games showcase the resilience, community spirit and most importantly, upholds our traditional sporting value. The world has so much to learn from the richness of these traditional games.

“Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has mentioned across various national platforms that we have to give the best exposure to the traditional sports. Now our teams are not only getting the best exposures but also coming out with flying colours. I congratulate the spirit of our players and the traditional skills of both teams,” Dr Mandaviya mentioned.

With the highlight being the 2036 Olympics which India has put forth a bid to host, the Union Minister added that the winning flow from all the stakeholders should continue, with the latest target being the Asian Games 2026. “We did a splendid job of organising the Kho Kho World Cup and we need to make an effort that these players get a chance to play at the Asian Games. The Government’s endeavour is also to take Kho Kho to Olympics in 2036. For this, the players and coaches need to keep performing well, the federation has to keep managing well and the Sports Ministry will carry on supporting and helping level up the players’ performances.”

Out of the 23 countries that took part in the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 at the national capital, India came on top. The credit has largely been given to the month-long camp at the Sports Authority of India JLN Stadium. Sumit Bhatia, chief coach, India Women’s Kho Kho team, explained, “On December 10, we started the camp at the SAI JLN Stadium with 60 players. Out of them, we found the best 15 players each for the men’s and the women’s team. The teams were composed of players from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and the camp helped them forge the team chemistry.

“The players went through sports science testing for the first-time ever and were provided the best diet and lodging facilities from the Sports Authority of India. This has played instrumental in our success today. With the next edition of the World Cup coming up in England four years later, we will make it a point to unfurl India’s flag again on top of the podium,” Sumit Bhatia added.