Kho Kho World Cup 2027 to happen in Birmingham, reveals KKFI president Sudhanshu Mittal

NEW DELHI: After the successful conclusion of the first-ever Kho Kho World Cup, the president of the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI), Sudhanshu Mittal announced the venue for the next edition of the tournament, revealing Birmingham as the host for the 2027 World Cup.

The first edition of the World Cup concluded on Sunday with the Indian team lifting the trophy in both men’s and women’s categories.

The captains expressed their feelings and emotions on the victory while handing over the trophy to the KKFI president and secretary. Coaches of both teams, Sumit Bhatia, Munni Joon (women’s team) and Ashwani Sharma (Men’s team) also expressed their gratitude to the federation for organizing the event and helping the sport gain global recognition, as per a press release from KKFI.

#WATCH | Delhi | India Women’s team wins inaugural Kho Kho World Cup beating Nepal 78-40

Munni Joon, team India’s head coach, says, “I am very proud of winning the gold medal…Our team has created a history…It was an amazing moment when we won the cup…The team performed… pic.twitter.com/hPlcwC01cm

— ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2025

Addressing the press, president Mittal said, “KKWC 2025 was a huge success. We are delighted to announce that the next Kho Kho World Cup will be held in Birmingham, England in 2026-2027. We will be more than happy to see the second edition become bigger than the first one and surpass all expectations”.

He further said, “The next congress session of the International Kho Kho Federation will also take place on April 17 where the strategy for the next four years will be discussed and formalised”.

While announcing the venue for the next Kho Kho World Cup, Mittal also revealed that various politicians and dignitaries congratulated him for the success of the World Cup. These included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizer JP Nadda, Minister of Road and Transport Nitin Gadkari, Deputy Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya, Chief Minister of Rajasthan Bhajan Lal Sharma, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal and President of Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav.

The post-tournament press conference was attended by the general secretary of KKFI MS Tyagi, secretary general of International Kho Kho Federation Rohit Haldania, Virender Kumar from Ease My Trip, CEO of KKWC Major General Vikram Dev Dogra and both the World Cup winning captains- Pratik Waikar and Priyanka Ingle. (ANI)