Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025: Top National, International Athletes To Vie For 24 Gold Medals
The nation's top athletes will compete for 24 gold medals at the inaugural Khelo India Water Sports Festival, set to take place at the iconic Dal Lake. The three-day event will feature over 400 participants in rowing, canoeing, and kayaking.
The Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 marks the first consolidated open-age category championships, featuring all 14 kayaking and canoeing events and 10 rowing events that are part of the Olympics. Adding to the festival's allure, there will be three demonstration events: water skiing, shikhara boat sprint, and dragon boat race.
Athletes from 36 states and Union Territories will participate, with particular attention on competitors from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Kerala. 'With Services not participating as a team, it will be interesting to see how the states perform. The course has been prepared according to international specifications, and we are ready to go," said competition manager Bilquis Mir, a former World Cup canoeist and an Olympic judge.
The Khelo India Water Sports Festival is a new addition to the Khelo India calendar, with the introduction of two new events in 2025. The Khelo India Beach Games took place in Diu in May. As per the Khelo Bharat Niti, both the Water Games and Beach Games aim to promote sports and boost tourism.
Suhani Meena, a water sports athlete from Madhya Pradesh participating in rowing, expressed her excitement about being in Kashmir. 'This is a great opportunity for water sports athletes, as we have limited chances to compete at the national level throughout the year. The Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will give us a platform to excel," she said.
For kayaking and canoeing, the last nationals held in Tehri (Uttarakhand) in November served as qualifiers. The top 15 in singles and doubles, and the top eight in fours, will compete at the KIWSF. For rowing, the top eight from the nationals held in Bhopal in March will participate.
International athletes will also feature in the event. Arjun Lal Jat, an Army rower representing Delhi, will be a major attraction. Jat, 28, competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won silver in the lightweight double sculls at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
'This is my first Khelo India event, and I will compete in men's single sculls. I expect every team to deliver their best. Khelo India is well supported by the Government of India, and such events should happen more often to provide athletes from Jammu and Kashmir with a platform to represent India internationally," said Jat.
The Water Games will have almost equal representation from men and women. Of the 409 athletes vying for medals, 202 are female. Madhya Pradesh (44), Haryana (37), Odisha (34), and Kerala (33) will have the largest contingents at KIWSF 2025, while Gujarat, Puducherry, and West Bengal will have the smallest teams.
Nitish Chaudhary from Rajasthan, a two-time national silver medalist, said: 'For a water sports person like me, the climate and facilities here are amazing. I am getting the chance to meet other athletes from different parts of the country and learn from their experiences."
Three gold medals, all in kayaking and canoeing, will be decided on Day 1 on Thursday. All 10 rowing finals are scheduled for the final day on August 3. The opening ceremony, expected to be attended by Union Minister of State Srimati Raksha Khadse and other dignitaries from Jammu and Kashmir, will be held on Thursday evening from 6 PM.
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August 20, 2025, 23:59 IST
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