‘It’s a wonderful beginning’: Indian men’s Kho Kho team captain Prateek Waikar on win over Nepal

New Delhi [India], January 14 (ANI): After his side's victory over Nepal in the maiden match of the ongoing Kho Kho World Cup 2025, Indian men's Kho Kho team captain Prateek Waikar on Monday said that it was a "wonderful beginning" for them to the tournament.
The first-ever Kho Kho World Cup finally kickstarted in New Delhi on Monday with a grand opening ceremony and will be held till January 19. The first match of the tournament saw India play Nepal in men's action. The women's action will kickstart on Tuesday with England taking on Australia. Brazil's men's team will play India on Tuesday.
Speaking to ANI, Waikar said that they needed to start the Kho Kho World Cup with a win. The captain added that he is happy with the players' performance but that they still need to improve.
"It's a wonderful beginning and that's how we needed to start this World Cup. I am happy with the players but I also think that some improvement needs to be done... I have seen big players from various sports carrying the Tricolour on numerous occasions - today it was me and I'll never forget this moment," Prateek Waikar told ANI.
The coach of the Indian men's Kho Kho team Ashwani Kumar Sharma spoke to ANI and praised his side. He added that the players performed well in the game against Nepal. He added that they did shuffle players and made some changes in the squad.

"The performance of the players was good. But, I think the players were a bit under pressure as it was the first match (of the World Cup) and also the inauguration ceremony was so grand. But, after halftime, we shuffled the players and made some changes. The boys did well after that. It will be no exaggeration to say that the opening ceremony that we had today - I have never seen anything like that, even when I was playing I had never thought that something would happen like this." Ashwani Kumar Sharma told ANI. (ANI)