Indian kho kho women’s team became the first world champion on Sunday as they defeated Nepal in the final of the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup 2025 in New Delhi. The Priyanka Ingle-led Indian women’s team defeated Nepal 78-40 in the final match at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium to become the world champion.

A brisk start epitomized Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of proceedings. Three batches in, the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, with 14 points to India’s name. Skipper Priyanka Ingle was in the best of form for her team with multiple touch points to her name, as the Indians started off in an exceptional manner. This was enough to take the Women in Blue to 34 points and preventing a single Dream Run for the Nepal team.

Manmati Dhami got Vaishnavi Pawar, and Samjhana B eliminated Priyanka Ingle but Chaithra B took India’s first batch of Turn 2 into the Dream Run. It wasn’t for long though, as Dipa completed the ALL OUT just moments later. This got the side back into the game but they only managed to score 24 points at the end of Turn 2, with an 11-point deficit at half time.

Team India was once again a dominant force in Turn 3, never allowing the Nepal defenders to settle in their stride. Dipa BK was a regular for Nepal but it went in vain throughout, ensuring that the Indians edged closer to the trophy.

Chaithra B was the orchestrator of the Dream Run for India, taking the score to a massive 78 points in Turn 4. Their batch went on for a massive 5 minutes and 14 seconds, closing out the game for India and confirming them as the first-ever champions of the Kho Kho World Cup 2025.

India’s path to glory included commanding victories over South Korea, IR Iran, and Malaysia in the group stages, followed by triumph against Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and a masterful win over South Africa in the semi-finals. This historic achievement not only crowns India as the inaugural world champions but also marks a watershed moment for this indigenous sport on the global stage.

The Indian men’s team will also play against Nepal in the final on Sunday.

MATCH AWARDS

Best Attacker of the match: Anshu Kumari (Team India)

Best Defender of the match: Manmati Dhani (Team Nepal)

Best Player of the match: Chaithra B (Team India)

Source: First post