India-Pakistan Clash To Kick Off Inaugural Kho Kho World Cup 2025 in New Delhi
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The organizers of the Kho Kho World Cup 2025, whose brand ambassador was revelaed to be Salman Khan, also announced that no teams shall receive any form of prize money for the tournament.
The organizers of the Kho Kho World Cup with all the players present in the national camp in Delhi.
Despite the tensions that continue to brew between India and Pakistan, especially in the world of cricket recently, the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup is set to commence on January 13, with the arch-rivals facing each other on the mat, said organisers of the event on Wednesday.
The Kho Kho World Cup 2025 (KKWC), being organised under the supervision of the KKFI (Kho Kho Federation of India), is set to witness teams from a total of 24 countries coming together to battle it out for glory at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here in New Delhi.
The KKWC 2025 is set to follow a knockout-cum-tournament format, for both the men and women, with the league stage matches set to commence from January 13 — the same day India and Pakistan will face off — and end on January 16, stated KKWC CEO Vikram Dev Dogra.
Following the same, knockouts stages will be kicked off with the quarter-finals being played on the January 17, the semis on January 18 and the final on January 19.
Questions regarding the participation of the Pakistan teams, both men and women, were raised, given the rich history of clashes the two nations share. But Sudhanshu Mittal, President of the KKFI, remained confident that the marquee clash would take place seamelessly.
“I am very confident it will take place. They (both the Pakistan men’s and women’s team) have already applied for their visas. So, I remain sure that we will host them and have them play here,” Mittal stated.
The KKWC also announced that no teams shall receive any form of prize money for the tournament — a move taken due to avoid complications with taxation laws that may apply to those playing from abroad.
“We don’t have any cash prize money. The medals naturally are there, the trophy is there and we also may hand out other prizes, but there is no cash reward. This is not a league, this is a tournament,” clarified Mittal.
When asked about how this may pertain to the financial viability of hosting this tournament in the future, and whether this may bring finanacial stability of future players into question, Mittal talked about how the KKFI has overseen and ensured that the national players are taken care of outside of the sport as well.
“We have been taking care of our players. Like I had stated before, we ensured that over 3000 players so far have been taken care of financially by being allocated government jobs, which is a great achievment. So, all these players do believe that they have a very secure future,” Mittal replied.
