New Delhi to host first-ever Kho Kho World Cup in January 2025

In a historic announcement, India will be hosting the first-ever Kho Kho World Cup in 2025. The tournament will be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from January 13 to 19, 2025. The details of the venue and dates were announced by the Kho Kho Federation of India on Wednesday, October 16.

Kho Kho has mostly gained its popularity in South East Asian countries like India, Nepal and Bangladesh. However, the World Cup will be a signifcant step in taking the sport to a brand new audience.

Notably, to better cater to the demands of new-age infrastructure, the Kho Kho World Cup will be played on mats. The competition will be played in both the men's and women's categories.The World Cup will start with the league matches and then move into the knock-outs.

A total of 16 teams will be participating and will be divided into four groups based on ranking and seeding. A total number of 62 matches will be played on league cum knock-out basis in both categories.

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Kho Kho World Cup 2025 to feature teams from 7 continents

The first Kho Kho World Cup will see numerous newer countries venturing into the sport. Teams from almost every continent will be featuring in the prestigious competition. The top eight teams from each region will make it to the tournament automatically through seeded qualification.

From Asia, India and Nepal have qualified for both the men's and women's categories. England and Germany have also made it from Europe. While Canada has qualified from the North American region, Peru and South Africa will be representing South America and Africa, respectively.

From the Oceania region, Australia has qualified for the men's category while New Zealand will feature in the women's. India, who has been a dominating force in the sport, will be entering the tournament as one of the favorites. Along with them, Nepal is another country that has always done exceedingly well.