Kho Kho World Cup: India men and women storm into semi-finals
The Indian women's teams scored more than 100 points for the fifth consecutive time in the 2025 Kho Kho World Cup.
The Indian men's Kho Kho team in action against Sri Lanka in quarter-finals of the 2025 World Cup (Photo credit: Kho Kho World Cup)
The Indian men's and women's teams stormed into the semi-finals of the 2025 Kho Kho World Cup with commanding victories over neighbours Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively in Delhi on Friday.
A brilliant performance from the Indian men's team was led by the likes of Ramji Kashyap, Pratik Waikar and Aditya Ganpule, as they scored 58 points in Turn 1.
They prevented the Sri Lankans from scoring a single point via dream runs, ensuring a strong start to the game at the end of the first turn. They made the Sri Lankans work hard in Turn 2, with Aniket Pote and leading the charge, alongside Ganpule.
Kashyap joined the party soon after for his team, but the Sri Lankan attackers were no less. They ensured that the Indian teams were not settled throughout the second turn, getting the Indians in crucial moments of the turn, but this wasn't enough as the India already had a substantial lead by then, giving them a strong platform at the start of Turn 3.
India women beat Bangladesh
The Indian women's team, meanwhile, secured a commanding 109-16 victory over Bangladesh. Led by captain Priyanka Ingle, the team showcased their dominance throughout all four turns, including an impressive dream run in Turn 2 that lasted over five minutes.
The home team continued their remarkable streak of scoring 100+ points, making this their fifth consecutive match to cross the century mark in the tournament.
Turn 1 was a dominating performance from India, hitting a half-century of points led by the experience of Nasreen Shaikh and Priyanka Ingle. They never let the Bangladeshis settle down at all, even in Turn 2 as they scored a dream run from the start of their turn.
Once again, it was the skipper Ingle, alongside Ashwini Shinde and Reshma Rathod. Their batch went on for a massive five minutes and 36 seconds, as they scored six points to take a more than substantial lead.
At the end of Turn 2, Bangladesh managed only four simple touches as the score read 56-8 with two more turns remaining in the game.
Turn 3 saw India rule the mat once again, not allowing Bangladesh to settle into the game. A sky dive from Reshma Rathod brought up their fifth-straight 100 points in the World Cup.
At the end of Turn 3, in what could be better construed as a mauling, the score read 106-8.
India continued their dominance in the fourth turn to register a massive victory.
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