Hosts India clinched a glorious double in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup, winning both the mens and womens titles at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi today. Nepal finished runners-up in both categories. India won the mens final 54-36 and womens summit clash 78-40.

Three players from Odisha represented India in this World Cup, which commenced on 13 January 2025. Among the three Odisha players, Subhashree Sing (Balasore) and Magai Majhi (Rayagada) were members of the Indian womens team, while Pabani Sabar (Gajapati) featured in the Indian mens squad.

All three players are students of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and train at Odisha AM/NS Kho Kho High-Performance Centre (HPC) in Bhubaneswar, under the guidance of coach and mentor Sanjeev Sharma.

Besides the three players, five officials from Odisha did duty at the World Cup. Among them, Odisha Kho Kho Association secretary Pradyumna Mishra performed the role of a member of the Referee Board, while Choudhury Partha Sarathi Mohapatra, Akash Rana, Krishna Kumari Ray and Shraddhamayee Rout worked as international technical officials.

It may be mentioned that the Odisha Government has extended huge support to kho-kho by setting up of a High Performance Centre (HPC) at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. Earlier this month the State government also announced to sponsor the National kho-kho teams for the next three years from January 2025 to December 2027. As per the contract, Odisha government pay Rs 5 crore annually, totaling Rs 15 crore over three years.

WORLD CUP AWARDS:
Best Player of the Tournament (Women): Priyanka Ingle (India)
Emerging Player of the Tournament (Women): Nirmala Bhati (India)
Best Player of the Tournament (Men): Pratik Waikar (India)
Emerging Player of the Tournament (Men): Ramji Kashyap (India)

INDIA RESULTS:

Men:
13 January: India beat Nepal 42-37
14 January: India beat Brazil 64-34
15 January: India beat Peru 70-38
16 January: India beat Bhutan 71-34
17 January (QF): India beat Sri Lanka 100-40
18 January (SF): India beat South Africa 62-42
19 January (Final): India beat Nepal 54-36.

Women:
14 January: India beat South Korea 175-18
15 January: India beat Iran 100-16
16 January: India beat Malaysia 100-20
17 January (QF): India beat Bangladesh 109-16 (Magai Majhi awarded as best attacker).
18 January (SF): India beat South Africa 66-16.
19 January (Final): India beat Nepal 78-40.
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PHOTO: Odisha players of the Indian teams (L-R) Pabani Sabar, Subhashree Sing and Magai Majhi pose with their gold medals at the inaugural Kho-Kho World Cup in New Delhi on 19 January 2025.