For the first time, the Kho Kho World Cup was played at international level in Men’s & Women’s categories from January 13 to 19, 2025 at the IGI Stadium New Delhi. The event was host by India and 20 teams in men’s category and 19 teams in women’s category did participate and compete to win first Kho-Kho World Cup title.
The announcement of Kho Kho World cup 2025 was made by Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) in Mid-October 2024, and it had been confirmed that the first edition of this tournament will be hosted by India and all matches will be played at the IGI Stadium New Delhi in the first month of 2025 from January 13 to 19.
It is a matter of pride for India and Indians that they have got the golden opportunity to host the first ever 2025 Kho Kho World Cup and in both Men’s and Women’s category India won the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 title under captaincy of Prateek Waikar and Priyanka Ingle. The final match of KKWC 2025 took place at IGI stadium on Januray 19 between India and Nepal and India won the first-ever Kho-Kho world cup!
Below we have discussed about everything regarding Kho Kho World cup 2025 like number of teams in Men & Women, Fixtures, Rules, Prize Money, and Where the live streaming of Kho Kho World aired in India and where you can watch the highlights of each and every game.
Kho Kho Sport
Kho-Kho is a famous traditional game of India, which is usually played between two teams on the ground. Each team has 12 players, out of which 9 players play on the field and 3 players are extra. The main objective of the game is to get the players of the opposition team out by touching them. However, in Ultimate Kho Kho or Kho Kho World cup, seven-a-side fast format is used where instead of 9, 7 players play on the field.
In the game, one team is ‘chaser’ (the one who chases) and the other team is ‘runner’ (the one who runs). The players of the chaser team sit in a row and chase the opposition players one by one. To get the players of the runner team out, they have to use strategy and speed efficiently so they can tag him as you tag a player in Pakdam Pakdai game.
Meanwhile the player of runner team tries to defend and on the basis of these things & analysis, a winner of the Kho-Kho game is decided. We have explained everything about What is Kho Kho game and how it is played in a separate article in detail, so please check it now to know more.
This game is quite popular in Asian countries and is played many times at District, State, and National level. For the first time in 2025, a Kho-Kho sports tournament is being organized at the world level, in which many countries of the world from 6 continents will participate and play in the first Kho-Kho World Cup to be hosted by India in Delhi.
Kho Kho World Cup 2025
Like other major sports, Kho-Kho World Cup tournament was organized and 24 countries from 6 continents accepted the invitation to participate in this big event. Kho Kho World Cup 2025 was scheduled to organize at IGI stadium New Delhi in India from 13 January to 19 January in both Men’s and Women’s category and it is sanctioned by the Kho Kho Federation of India and International Kho Kho Federation.
The tournament featured 20 men’s and 19 women’s teams, setting the stage for a tough competition. Ahead of the World Cup, KKFI planed to promote the sport in 200 elite schools across 10 cities so people get encouraged about this desi sport which is now popular in other countries as well.
Kho Kho World Cup 2025 Playing Format
Kho Kho World Cup played under the seven-a-side “fast format”, which is used for Ultimate Kho Kho. Means instead of 9 players, only 7 players will be on ground from chaser side and play and here’s more information about Kho-Kho rules that you should aware of before watching 2025 Kho Kho World Cup
- Number of Players: Only 7 players from the attacking (chasing) team are on the field at a time, compared to 9 players in the traditional format.
- Kho Kho World Cup Ground Measurement: The playing field of Kho Kho for World cup is bit smaller than standard style Kho-Kho, measuring 22 meters long and 16 meters wide. The pole-to-pole distance would be 19 meters.
- Scoring: Each tag scores 2 points, instead of 1 point in the traditional format.
- Timeouts: A 30-second break is taken between the dismissal of one batch of chasers and the entry of the next batch.
- Wazir Player: An attacking player, can run in any direction when acting as the active attacker. Normally the attacking player can run only in one direction, but there are no restrictions on the queen and it can run in any direction.
Kho-Kho World Cup 2025 Men’s Teams
In men’s category, 20 teams participated from the 6 continents (Europe, Oceania, Asia, Africa, North America and the South American) and these countries are:
- Group A: India, Nepal, Peru, Brazil, and Bhutan.
- Group B: South Africa, Ghana, Argentina, Netherlands, and Iran
- Group C: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Korea, USA, and Poland
- Group D: England, Germany, Malaysia, Australia, and Kenya
Kho-Kho World Cup 2025 Women’s Teams
In women’s category, 19 teams participated from the 6 continents (Europe, Oceania, Asia, Africa, North America and the South American) and these countries are:
- Group A: India, Iran, Malaysia, and South Korea
- Group B: England, Australia, Kenya, Uganda and Netherlands
- Group C: Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Germany and Bangladesh
- Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Poland, Peru and Indonesia
As per the official details shared by President of KKFI Sudhanshu Mittal, in Kho Kho world cup 2025, 615 players and 125 support staff will take part in this big event. Each team will comprise 15 players, one coach, one manager and international technical officials.
Kho Kho World Cup 2025 Ground Dimensions or Measurements
As this tournament is using seven-a-side fast format, the ground size will be bit smaller than the standard Kho Kho ground size. Instead of 27 by 16 meters, the Kho Kho ground dimensions for World cup tournament was 22 meters by 16 meters where pole to pole distance was 19 meters and free zone was around 1.5 meters from both sides as shown in below given image.
Kho Kho World Cup 2025 Fixtures
The timings and schedule of the Kho-Kho World Cup 2025 events were released a week before the tournament began. The opening match played between India and Nepal (Men) on 13 January at 8:30 PM and later from January 14 other matches were played in both Men and Women categories. The group stage matches played till 16 January. Here is the complete information about which country is playing match with whom and when
Men’s Fixtures for Kho-Kho World Cup 2025
| Group Stage Match | Date | Time |
| India vs Nepal | 13-Jan | 8:30 PM |
| South Africa and Ghana | 14-Jan | 10:30 AM |
| Bangladesh vs Srilanka | 14-Jan | 11:15 AM |
| England vs Germany | 14-Jan | 11.15 AM |
| Ghana vs Netherlands | 14-Jan | 11.15 AM |
| Peru vs Bhutan | 14-Jan | 12:30 PM |
| Argentina vs Iran | 14-Jan | 1:00 PM |
| South Korea vs Poland | 14-Jan | 2.45 PM |
| Malaysia vs Kenya | 14-Jan | 4:00 PM |
| South Africa vs Netherlands | 14-Jan | 4:30 PM |
| Bangladesh vs USA | 14-Jan | 5.15 PM |
| England vs Australia | 14-Jan | 6.30 PM |
| Nepal vs Peru | 14-Jan | 6.30 PM |
| Ghana vs Argentina | 14-Jan | 7.45 PM |
| India vs Brazil | 14-Jan | 8:15 PM |
| Germany vs Australia | 15-Jan | 10.00 AM |
| Sri Lanka vs USA | 15-Jan | 10:30 AM |
| Australia vs Kenya | 15-Jan | 11:00 AM |
| Ghana vs Netherlands | 15-Jan | 11.15 AM |
| Nepal vs Brazil | 15-Jan | 11.15 AM |
| Bangladesh vs South Korea | 15-Jan | 12.30 PM |
| South Africa vs Argentina | 15-Jan | 2:45 PM |
| England vs Malaysia | 15-Jan | 3:15 PM |
| Brazil vs Bhutan | 15-Jan | 5:15 PM |
| Netherlands vs Iran | 15-Jan | 5:15 PM |
| Sri Lanka vs South Korea | 15-Jan | 7:45 PM |
| India vs Peru | 15-Jan | 8:15 PM |
| Ghana vs Iran | 16-Jan | 8:45 AM |
| Nepal vs Bhutan | 16-Jan | 9:15 AM |
| Sri Lanka vs Poland | 16-Jan | 10.00 AM |
| Germany vs Kenya | 16-Jan | 10:30 AM |
| Peru vs Brazil | 16-Jan | 11.15 AM |
| Malaysia vs Australia | 16-Jan | 12.30 PM |
| South Korea vs USA | 16-Jan | 3:15 PM |
| Bangladesh vs Poland | 16-Jan | 5:45 PM |
| India vs Bhutan | 16-Jan | 8:15 PM |
The knockout stage of Kho Kho world cup started on Jan 17, 2025 with quarter finals and did end with the final match in both Men and Women on Jan 19, 2025.
In the men’s category, Iran, Kenya, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka qualified for the quarter-finals. Here is the complete details of which team faced whom in the men’s quarter-finals of Kho-Kho World Cup 2025.
| Kho Kho Quarter Finals | Match List | Date & Time |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Iran vs Kenya | Jan 17 at 11:45 AM |
| Q2 | England vs South Africa | Jan 17 at 3:15 PM |
| Q3 | Bangladesh vs Nepal | Jan 17 at 5:45 PM |
| Q4 | India vs Srilanka | Jan 17 at 8:15 PM |
In the men’s category – Iran, South Africa, Nepal, and India qualified for Semi Finals. Here’s full breakdown on Men’s Kho Kho World Cup 2025 Semi Finals:
| Kho Kho Semi Finals | Match List | Date & Time |
|---|---|---|
| Semi Final 1 | Iran vs Nepal | Jan 18 at 5:45 PM |
| Semi Final 2 | India vs South Africa | Jan 18 at 8:15 PM |
In Men’s category, the final match of Kho-Kho World cup 2025 was played between India and Nepal on January 19 and the Indian men’s team clinched the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup championship by defeating Nepal 54-36 in the final. Nepal is the second best team aka runner up for this tournament!
📸 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬! 🇮🇳🏆#KhoKhoWorldCup #TheWorldGoesKho #Khommunity #KhoKho #KKWCMen #KKWC2025 pic.twitter.com/3ifDB6BGAV
— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 20, 2025
Women’s Fixtures for Kho-Kho World Cup 2025
| Group Stage Match | Date | Time |
| Nepal vs Bhutan | 14-Jan | 10:00 AM |
| South Africa vs New Zealand | 14-Jan | 10:00 AM |
| England vs Australia | 14-Jan | 11:45 AM |
| Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh | 14-Jan | 12:30 PM |
| Kenya vs Netherlands | 14-Jan | 3:15 PM |
| Nepal vs Germany | 14-Jan | 4:00 PM |
| South Africa vs Peru | 14-Jan | 5:15 PM |
| England vs Uganda | 14-Jan | 5:45 PM |
| India vs South Korea | 14-Jan | 7:00 PM |
| Iran vs Malaysia | 14-Jan | 7:45 PM |
| Australia vs Uganda | 15-Jan | 10:00 AM |
| Bhutan vs Germany | 15-Jan | 11:45 AM |
| England vs Kenya | 15-Jan | 12:30 PM |
| New Zealand vs Peru | 15-Jan | 1:00 PM |
| Nepal vs Sri Lanka | 15-Jan | 2:45 PM |
| Uganda vs Netherlands | 15-Jan | 4:00 PM |
| South Africa vs Poland | 15-Jan | 4:30 PM |
| Germany vs Bangladesh | 15-Jan | 6:30 PM |
| Peru vs Indonesia | 15-Jan | 6:30 PM |
| India vs Iran | 15-Jan | 7:00 PM |
| Malaysia vs South Korea | 15-Jan | 7:45 PM |
| Bhutan vs Bangladesh | 16-Jan | 8:45 AM |
| Australia vs Netherlands | 16-Jan | 10:00 AM |
| Kenya vs Uganda | 16-Jan | 11:15 AM |
| New Zealand vs Indonesia | 16-Jan | 11:45 AM |
| Poland vs Peru | 16-Jan | 12:30 PM |
| Sri Lanka vs Germany | 16-Jan | 1:00 PM |
| Iran vs South Korea | 16-Jan | 4:00 PM |
| England vs Netherlands | 16-Jan | 4:00 PM |
| Nepal vs Bangladesh | 16-Jan | 4:30 PM |
| Australia vs Kenya | 16-Jan | 5:15 PM |
| South Africa vs Indonesia | 16-Jan | 6:30 PM |
| New Zealand vs Poland | 16-Jan | 6:30 PM |
| India vs Malaysia | 16-Jan | 7:00 PM |
| Bhutan vs Sri Lanka | 16-Jan | 7:45 PM |
In the women’s category – Uganda, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, Nepal, Iran, India, and Bangladesh qualified for the quarter-finals matches. Here is the complete information about which team playd whom in the women’s quarter-finals of Kho-Kho World Cup 2025.
| Kho Kho Quarter Finals | Match List | Date & Time |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Uganda vs New Zealand | Jan 17 at 10:30 AM |
| Q2 | South Africa vs Kenya | Jan 17 at 1:00 PM |
| Q3 | Iran vs Nepal | Jan 17 at 4:30 PM |
| Q4 | India vs Bangladesh | Jan 17 at 7:00 PM |
In the women’s category – Uganda, South Africa, Nepal, and India qualified for Semi Finals. Here’s full breakdown on Women’s Kho Kho World Cup 2025 Semi Finals:
| Kho Kho Semi Finals | Match List | Date & Time |
|---|---|---|
| Semi Final 1 | Uganda vs Nepal | Jan 18 at 4:00 PM |
| Semi Final 2 | India vs South Africa | Jan 18 at 7:00 PM |
In Women’s category, the final match of Kho-Kho World cup 2025 was played between India and Nepal on January 19 and the Indian women’s team clinched the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup championship by defeating Nepal 78-40 in the final. Nepal is the second best team aka runner up for this tournament!
Live Streaming of Kho Kho World Cup 2025
This was the first time Kho-Kho World Cup played and it was a proud moment for every Indian. To elevate this event to a grand scale, India’s Star Network had secured the broadcasting rights. Star Network aired the live telecast of KKWC25 including Final in both categories on satellite or digital platforms.
Apart, from that Star Sports, the live streaming of Kho-Kho World Cup 2025 was aired on DD sports (Free Dish) or on the YouTube till 19 January, 2025.
In addition to that, Kho Kho World Cup 2025 aired live online on Disney+Hotstar. Here you can watch the highlights of game in HD, 1080p, or in 4K quality in multiple national and regional languages like Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada etc. You can watch Kho-Kho World Cup recording and enjoy!
India is Winner of Kho Kho World Cup 2025, defeated Nepal in The Final match in both Men’s and Women’s category and the teams were honored with trophies, medals, and other recognitions.
If you have missed the historical moments, you can still watch the highlights of final match on Disney+Hotstar app and encourage players for next tournament – Thanks!
