Neeraj Chopra Classic to Chess World Cup – Major international tournaments hosted by India in 2025

Indian athletes were in for a rare home advantage as the country hosted a host of major international tournaments across sports, paving the way for some extraordinary performances that defined the year 2025.

Hosting of events ensured the spotlight firmly remained on the Indian athletes and their achievements, and a host of international stars converged to make for a potential game-changer for Indian sport and its audience.

From Harmanpreet Kaur's girls lifting the ICC Women's World Cup in Ahmedabad to Neeraj Chopra bringing home glory at the ‘javelin-only’ NC Chopra Classic in Bangalore, and India’s para-athletes chasing golden dreams on the freshly laid Mondo track at the iconic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the capital, Indian sport continued to make headlines on the global stage.

Let’s take a look at some of the international tournaments hosted by India in 2025, events that showcased world-class competition and underlined the country’s growing stature on the international sporting map.

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup

On November 2, 2025, the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai witnessed history in the making when the Indian women’s cricket team led by Harmanpreet Kaur lifted their first ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

They beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final and chased a 339 run target, the highest successful run chase in the history of Women’s ODI, against seven-time champions Australia in the semi-final.

Blind Cricket T20 World Cup

In November, India celebrated another feat in the world of cricket after the women cricketers lifted the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup for the blind. India defeated Nepal by seven wickets in the final played in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The tournament started in New Delhi before moving to Karnataka and eventually to Sri Lanka. It featured six teams Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, US and hosts India in a single round-robin format.

Neeraj Chopra Classic

Who would have thought that a single athlete and one field event could draw a crowd of 15,000? The Neeraj Chopra Classic did just that, shattering expectations in its very first edition at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium in early July 2025.

India’s first-ever World Athletics Gold-level javelin meet proved to be an instant success, featuring 12 elite throwers from around the world. Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra rose to the occasion, clinching gold with a best throw of 86.18 metres.

Originally slated to be held near Neeraj’s hometown of Kurukshetra, the event ultimately found its stage in Bengaluru but still delivered a landmark moment for Indian athletics.

World Para Athletics Championship

A freshly-laid mondo track set the tone for the largest para-sport event ever held in India. The meet featured 186 medal events and over 1100 athletes from more than 100 nations converged to the iconic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

The Indian contingent wrapped up its most successful outing ever with 22 medals at the World Para Athletics Championships.

Sumit Antil, Rinku Hooda, Sandip Sargar and Sundar Singh Gurjar confirmed India’s dominance in javelin throw while Nishad Kumar, Shailesh Kumar (men’s high jump), Simran Singh, among others contributed significantly in India’s 10th place finish.

Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships

The 30th Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships saw participation from over 300 lifters representing 31 countries. Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mirabai Chanu opened India’s campaign by winning gold in the women’s 48kg category and also booked her spot for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

India finished with a total of 13 senior medals, including three gold, seven silver and three bronze. The tournament also saw some commendable performance from Indian junior and youth lifters, winning several medals in the age-group events.

Squash World Cup

India’s mixed squash team scripted history by winning their maiden Squash World Cup title in front of a home crowd at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai. The team included Joshna Chinappa, Anahat Singh, Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar. They beat Hong Kong, China in the final to take home the title.

The tournament was the third consecutive edition hosted by India and featured 12 national teams.

World Boxing Cup Finals

The season-ending World Boxing Cup Finals saw a dominant performance by hosts India as Nikhat Zareen, Jaismine Lamboria, Meenakshi Hooda, Nupur Sheoran led the charge, securing seven of the 10 gold medals on offer, while the men claimed two.

Indian boxers won a total of 20 medals, with 15 reaching the finals of their respective categories at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida. Overall, India topped the medal haul with nine gold, six silver, and five bronze.

Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs

The Billie Jean King Cup, the women’s equivalent of the men-only Davis Cup, is one of the most prestigious international team events in tennis. And India hosted the BJK Cup play-offs for the first time at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru.

Ranked 27, India was drawn in Group G alongside world No. 14 Netherlands and world No. 19 Slovenia in its bid for a maiden qualifiers appearance. Slovenia topped the group to advance to the 2026 qualifiers, while India and the Netherlands were relegated to their respective Regional Group I events for 2026.

India Open Continental Bronze

The inaugural edition of the Indian Open 2025, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet, was held on August 10, 2025, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

It marked the first time India hosted a Bronze-level event on the Continental Tour, offering crucial ranking points for athletes aiming to qualify for the World Championships and the Olympics.

The meet underscored India’s growing prominence in global athletics, with standout performances from Annu Rani (women’s javelin), Murali Sreeshankar (men’s long jump), Animesh Kujur (men's 200m), Shaili Singh (women's Long Jump), Shivam Lohakare (men's Javelin), among others.

Asian Aquatics Championships

Thirteen medals and a ninth place finish marked the country’s most successful Asian Championship campaign so far. The Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, witnessed history in making with Srihari Natraj bagging seven medals, Bhavya Sachdeva winning the first medal for India in the women’s category.

And Indian divers Indiver Sairam and Willson Sing Ningthoujam, too, scripted history by winning India’s first-ever medal in diving, a bronze in men’s synchronised 10 metres platform.

FIH Men’s Hockey Asia Cup

India hosted eight teams for the 12th edition of the Men’s Hockey Asia Cup at the Rajgir Sports Complex in Bihar. The quadrennial international men’s field hockey championship is organized by the Asian Hockey Federation.

In the final, India defeated defending champions South Korea and secured qualification for the 2026 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup.

FIDE World Cup

The FIDE World Cup brought the world’s top chess players to Goa, where they competed in a dramatic knockout format for a share of the $2,000,000 prize pool. In addition to the prize money, the tournament offered three spots in the 2026 Candidates Tournament.

With every round a win-or-go-home battle, the World Cup produced a series of fierce encounters. Javokhir Sindarov emerged as the champion, while Wei Yi and Andrey Esipenko also secured berths in the 2026 Candidates Tournament.

Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup

The Under-21 tournament was conducted across venues in two cities — Chennai and Madurai — and marked the 14th edition of the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup. A total of 24 teams were divided into six pools of four teams each. India were placed in Pool B alongside Chile, Oman and Switzerland.

In the third-place match against Argentina, India dramatically bounced back from 0-2 down to secure a 4-2 win, scoring all four goals in the last 11 minutes.

ISSF Junior World Cup

With participation from 19 federations and 208 shooters, the Shooting Junior World Cup marked India’s first time hosting the competition. The New Delhi leg was the 11th edition of the tournament. The hosts capped off a successful campaign by finishing on top of the medal standings, collecting a total of 26 medals including 8 gold, 10 silver and 8 bronze. Of these, 19 medals (6 gold, 8 silver and 5 bronze medals) came from Olympic shooting events.

BWF World Junior Championships

The championships were held at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, Assam, with India hosting the tournament for the second time after the 2008 edition.

In the individual events, Tanvi Sharma settled for the silver medal in the girls’ singles while the mixed team bagged a historic bronze, marking the country’s first-ever medal at the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships.

The Indian mixed team comprised Bhargav Ram Arigela, Viswa Tej Gobburu, Unnati Hooda, Rounak Chouhan, Lalramsanga, Vishakha Toppo, Reshika U and Vennala K.