Kho Kho World Cup 2025: Indian Men’s Team Script History With Win Over Nepal In Final To Be Crowned Inaugural Champions
It was deja vu for the Nepal team who yet again fell victim to the scintillating Indians in the final, handing over the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup to the hosts who sealed a 54-36 win.
History repeated itself on the same day for India, as the Indian Men’s team replicated their female counterparts’ achievement, edging out Nepal 54-36 in a thrilling finale to lift the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup on Sunday.
The two teams touted as the favourites inevitably came knocking on each other’s doors one last time, in a rematch of the tournament opener.
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Pratik Waikar and co. edged out the wily Nepal Men’s team in their initial bout of the tournament with a scoreline of 42-37.
Since then, the hosts have maintained their unbeaten streak and punched their ticket into the final after putting away a fiery South African side in the semi-final. Nepal, on the other hand, also went on a rampage, dismantling their opponents with ease and effortlessly disposing of Iran to seal their spot in the final showdown.
Fueled by revenge and hunger, both sides took to the mat in what promised to be a bout between the crème-de-la-crème with the World Cup on the line.
Nepal won the toss and opted to defend first, in a similar fashion to the Nepal Women’s team from earlier on in the evening, giving India the chance to strike right out the gate.
Strike they did, as Waikar and his teammates took to the mat to make light work of the Nepal defenders, removing skipper Hem, Janak, and Suraj in less than a minute and a half to open their account.
Nepal though would recover a bit of ground on their next go around, with defender Rajan Bal weathering the blistering Indian attackers for around two minutes before they were run all out.
There would be no stopping the Indians, who would continue to dominate on the attacking front, notching up a strong 26-0 lead by the end of Turn 1, an improvement on their initial encounter at the beginning of the tournament.
The onus was now on Nepal skipper Hem and his teammates to strike back in Turn 2 and eat into the deficit. But this would prove to be no easy task.
The initial batch of defenders – Suman, Rokeson, and Mehul – would ensure that India started with the upper hand, burning almost 3 minutes off the clock. Nepal though would persist, executing skydives galore to keep the points ticking, chipping away at the lead that the hosts had built.
Their efforts would not put them on top but would yield them benefits as Nepal ran out three batches of defenders to reduce the lead as the scoreboard read 26-18 at the end of Turn 2.
With a single-digit lead giving India the slender edge, the hosts kicked into overdrive in Turn 3, to notch a staggering 28 points to balloon their scores to a seemingly unassailable 54-18.
The stakes were dire yet simple. One Turn and 36 points were all that separated both sides from laying their hands on the first Kho Kho World Cup.
Nepal, with the weight of expectation on their shoulders, needed to run out at least six batches of Indian defenders, while all that India had to do was evade capture.
An unfazed and stoic India would keep their composure, zigzagging their way past the Nepal attackers all through the turn.
The unbridled pace and stamina of India would overpower Nepal, as the hosts ended the final Turn with a scoreline of 54-36 to bring their unbeaten campaign to an end, claiming the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup.
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