Kho Kho World Cup 2025: Indian men's team enters final with a win vs spirited South Africa in SF
Indian men’s team will be aiming to become the first Kho Kho World Cup champions when they take on Nepal in the title clash at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, January 19.
FollowIndian men’s team made it six wins on the trot as they qualified for the final after defeating South Africa, who displayed spirited performance, in the semifinal of the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday, January 19. The Pratik Waiker-led side is currently the only across two categories to register six consecutive wins in the prestigious tournament.
India were asked to defend after South Africa won the toss and decided to go for attacking in the opening turn. The South African put on a brilliant fight as they gained crucial points by exerting pressure on Indian defenders, who failed to score any point in the Turn 1. The hosts’ attackers' spirited show left the spectators at the stadium in awe, giving a sense of thrilling semifinal clash. At the end of Turn 1, South Africa took an 18 point lead over the Pratik Waiker-led side, with the score read 18-0.
In Turn 2, India deployed attackers and they maintained a similar pressure on South Africa, similar to the visitors’ aggressive strategy in the opening turn, as it was the only option for the Pratik Waiker-led side to take a lead. Indian attacking was up to par as they managed to gain 26 points and took a slender 8-point lead, with the score read 26-18 at the second half of the exciting clash. Since South Africa is known for their aggressive approach in attacking as it was necessary to contain them effectively in the Turn 3.
In Turn 3, beginning of the second half, South Africa yet again put on an impressive show, putting the Indian team under significant pressure. The visitors’ attackers were relentless in their approach, not just to close the gap on the scoreboard but also taking a lead one more time against India by gaining 24 points to their total of 42. At the end of turn 3, South Africa took a 16-point lead over hosts, with the score 42-26. The turn 4 was do or die for the Indian men’s team as they had to somehow manage to take an even slender lead in order to prevent a shock exit from the tournament.
— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 18, 2025
In the first two minutes of Turn 4, it looked like Indian attackers wouldn’t get better off South African defenders, who were putting pressure on the hosts. However, there was a change as India attackers decided to go for Sky dives as it would give them significant points to take a lead over South Africa. At the end of second half of the semifinal, Indian men’s team finally heaved a sigh of relief as the hosts managed to take a 16-point lead over South Africa in order to make it to the final of the historic event.
However, South Africa’s spirited efforts didn’t go unnoticed as the spectators and the hosts appreciated their efforts. Earlier, Indian women’s team qualified for the final against Nepal after defeating South Africa women’s side in the semifinal clash.
In men’s semifinal 1, Nepal completely dominated Iran by 52 points with a score read 72-20. The Nepal men’s side dominated the show against Iranian side, similar to how their women’s counterparts played against Uganda.
Indian men’s team will be aiming to become the first Kho Kho World Cup champions when they take on Nepal in the title clash at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, January 19.
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