Kho Kho World Cup 2025: 5 on 5! Unbeaten Indian men’s team enters semifinal with a win over Sri Lanka in QF
The Indian men’s team will continue to keep their hopes alive for the maiden Kho Kho World Cup title when they take on South Africa in the semifinal at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday, January 18.
FollowThere’s no way the Indian men’s team is slowing down as they extended their unbeaten run to five matches with a win over Sri Lanka in the quarterfinal and secured their spot in the semifinal of the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on Friday. Before entering the quarterfinal, India won all four matches in the group stage of the tournament.
After winning the toss, the Pratik Waikar-led side decided to opt for attacking against Sri Lanka in the opening turn of the quarterfinal. Indian men’s team attackers were too hot to handle for Sri Lanka defenders as hosts’ relentless pursuit led to a commanding lead while accumulating quick points early in the game. At the end of Turn 1, India gained 58 points. In Turn 2, Sri Lankan side put up a spirited show in attacking but they were not at par with the Indian defenders, whose extraordinary agility and coordination restricted the visitors’ scoring opportunities.
At the end of first half of the quarterfinal, Indian men’s team took a 40-point lead over Sri Lanka, with the score read 58-18. In Turn 3, beginning of the second half, India resumed their attacking mode and they did a little better compared to Turn 1 by constantly pursuing to capture all 15 defenders of the opponent. At the end of Turn 3, The Pratik Waikar-led side gained additional 48 points to their total of 100 and increased their lead to 82 points over Bangladesh.
In the 4th and final turn, Sri Lanka attackers were deployed again to capture Indian defenders. The visitors’ were far from taking the lead from India, but their spirited fight was on display to put a little pressure on India, even though the hosts already gained advantage in terms of lead points. The Sri Lankan attacking side showed an improved performance compared to how they played in Turn 2. At the of Turn 4, Bangladesh accumulated additional 20 points to the total of 38 points while bringing down India’s lead.
At the end of second half, India won the match with a 62-point lead over Sri Lanka, with the score 100-38. With the quarterfinal win against Sri Lanka, India registered five successive wins of the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 and also, for the first time, they scored 100 points in the tournament.
Earlier, the Indian women’s team qualified for the semifinal with yet another dominating performance against Bangladesh, with a massive 95-point win in the quarterfinal. Just the male counterparts, India women haven’t lost a single match in the historic event, winning all three matches in the group stage.
In the men’s quarterfinal, along with India, Iran, Nepal, and South Africa have qualified for the semifinal stage of the tournament. India and South Africa are the only teams to have remained unbeaten in the Kho Kho World Cup 2025.
The Indian men’s team will continue to keep their hopes alive for the maiden Kho Kho World Cup title when they take on South Africa in the semifinal at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday, January 18.
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