Union Sports Minister of State Raksha Khadse applauds World Cup-winning kho kho teams; Assured KKFI that Maharashtra will host World Championship

Expressing her joy about the fantastic achievement, Smt. Khadse said the government will do everything possible to support indigenous sports like kho kho

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Smt. Raksha Nikhil Khadse met and congratulated both the men’s and women’s kho kho teams, who recently clinched the World Cup, here on Friday. The honourable Union Minister of State applauded the dominating manner in which both the teams clinched the glittering World Cup trophies.

“It is such a momentous occasion for the country that both our men’s and women’s teams clinched the first-ever World Cup in kho kho, especially the dominating fashion in which we won gives me immense pride. This is our indigenous sport, the sport of our soil, our villages. Entire country celebrated the victory, even in distant parts. I want to congratulate Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) president (Sudhanshu) Mittal ji and his entire team for putting a lot of effort to help the game earn the much-required fame and create ripples internationally,” Smt. Khadse told the World Cup-winning team members.

Pratik Waikar-led Indian men’s team defeated Nepal in the title clash while women’s team that was captained by Priyanka Ingle also clinched a win against the same opposition in the finale. The first-ever Kho Kho World Cup saw 23 countries across 6 continents featuring in the week-long tournament with 20 men’s and 19 women’s teams being a part of it.

“Not only Maharashtra, where the sport originated, but other states also performed very well, which is very heartening to see. I would urge all the players to promote the sport in their states/districts/cities etc. You need to tell people in your region about your achievements so that more children get inspired to take up the sport. I would like to extend my best wishes to each player present here for more success in the future,” she said.

Sports Authority of India (SAI) supported KKFI to organize a month-long national camp from December 10, 2024 to January 11, 2025 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at no cost. 60 men and 60 women from 27 states trained at the facility.

KKFI president Sudhanshu Mittal praised the government for extending all kinds of support for the successful staging of the World Cup at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

“The Indian government has been very supportive towards indigenous sports like kho kho. Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya and MoS Smt. Raksha Khadse supported us in every way possible that led to successful staging of the World Cup. We have already announced the staging of next World Cup in Birmingham after 4 years and would like to conduct the World Championship here in India, if the government allows us,” Mittal said.

To this, Smt. Khadse assured the KKFI President that Maharashtra will host the World championship and she will discuss the matter with the Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri. Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri. Ajit Pawar, Patron, Maharashtra Kho Kho Association.

“I will discuss the idea given by Mittal ji with our honourable Sports Minister and we will surely extend all possible help to popularise and promote kho kho further,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government approved cash rewards of Rs 2.25 crore to each player from the state who participated in the Kho Kho World Cup along with a Class 1 job in the state government after persuasion from Smt. Khadse.

Shri. Sudhanshu Mittal requested the Minister that she can help in persuading other States to give same amount of money to the World Cup winner Kho Kho players of their States.